Static Code Analysis
by LuckyLadybug
Summary: Post-series, my Pendulum Swings verse. Seto Kaiba is ready with his augmented reality game at last, but everything turns upsidedown when the Big Five resurface and use the program to escape into the real world. With them bent on claiming KaibaCorp for their own and rewriting the program to turn Domino City into other locations, how will everyone stop them?
1. Chapter 1

**Yu-Gi-Oh!**

 **Static Code Analysis**

 **By Lucky_Ladybug**

 **Notes: The characters are not mine (except Khu) and the story is! This is part of my post-series** _ **Pendulum Swings**_ **verse, where Yami Bakura survives Zorc's destruction and returns to Bakura. It takes place shortly after** _ **Until You Find the Answers.**_ **Thanks to everyone who has helped with getting this story rolling!**

 **Chapter One**

" _Khu?! Why are you getting into my treasures?"_

" _You're such a naive fool, Bakura. You actually thought I wanted to be your friend. All I wanted was to get close enough to you that I could steal from you when you amassed enough of a fortune that it would be worth my while."_

" _What?! Why?"_

" _I want them to fund my revolution, Bakura! You know I don't like the state of the kingdom. You don't, either."_

" _But that doesn't mean I want to be betrayed by my only friend!"_

" _Please. Would you have given me the means to fund my revolution if I had asked? A greedy tomb-raider like you?"_

" _Well, I guess you'll never know now, will you."_

" _I guess not. And don't think I'll let you go so you can try to take my stolen gains away from me."_

" _So, it's a battle to the death, eh? You won't win!"_

" _We'll just see about that."_

"Yami?! Yami, wake up! Please wake up!"

Yami Bakura jumped a mile, nearly falling out of the windowseat. He barely caught the edge of it in time and gave his descendant Ryou Bakura a put-out look. "What was that for?"

Bakura sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I'm sorry, Yami, but you seemed to be so distressed that I thought you should wake up. . . ."

Yami Bakura growled, running a hand through his hair. "Well . . . you were right. I didn't need to experience that episode from my past again." He sat up and gave a weary sigh.

Bakura sat next to him. "What was it?"

Yami Bakura didn't look at him. "When Khu betrayed me. You woke me up just as Khu threatened my life."

Bakura's eyes filled with sadness. "I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve such a horrible experience or such a cruel false friend."

"It was definitely a low point in my life," Yami Bakura growled. "And yet . . . because of that, we met for the first time when you time-traveled to the past to save me."

"We would have met at some other point, if not then," Bakura said kindly. "I wish we hadn't met under such terrible circumstances." He hesitated, then reached over and laid a hand on Yami Bakura's.

Yami Bakura looked at him in surprise, but let him. "At least it's over now."

"And hopefully you'll never have to see Khu again," Bakura soothed.

"I shouldn't have to," Yami Bakura agreed, "but people seem to have a way of coming back from the dead around here."

That shouldn't have struck Bakura as funny, but it did. He laughed, slumping against Yami Bakura. "In this case, Yami, I'm so glad of it!" he declared. "We wouldn't have separate bodies right now if it wasn't for that."

"I can't deny that," Yami Bakura gruffly admitted.

Bakura straightened and looked at the thief in sudden concern. "When Khu hurt you so badly, did the wounds leave scars?" he wondered.

"No, actually," Yami Bakura said. "Probably because you doctored them with modern medical knowledge." He glanced down at his open robe. "Meanwhile, I suppose this wound from the Rare Hunter's knife won't permanently scar either."

Bakura shuddered. Right now, the stab wound had healed to the point that it had scarred; the skin was lighter than the skin around it. He hoped Yami Bakura was right, that the scar would fade in time.

"That was such a horrid experience for you too," he said.

A shrug. "I've had worse."

"I know, but after so many terrible ones already, you shouldn't have to have any more," Bakura said.

"And why not, after everything I did to people?" Yami Bakura retorted. "I will very likely never stop paying for my crimes."

Bakura frowned. "But when you're trying to be good now, that wouldn't even be fair," he protested. "And Zorc was responsible for so much of what you did. Surely that would be taken into account!"

"I suppose," Yami Bakura grunted. "But Zorc wasn't entirely responsible. I did most things on my own, albeit with Zorc's influence poisoning my mind and soul."

"Then you weren't doing them on your own," Bakura said firmly. "Zorc let you think you were in control, when he was all along. You've shown that you're different when he's not poisoning you!"

"Because of you, you dolt," Yami Bakura countered. "Otherwise, I honestly don't know where I'd be right now or what I'd be trying to do, even if I survived Zorc's destruction and Shadi still gave me the Infinity Ring. I know I'd still figure I'd have to try to be good so I wouldn't get incinerated by the blasted thing, but without you I don't know if I'd have any hope of succeeding."

Bakura smiled. "I think you would, but I'm so happy I've been able to help you. And . . ." He hesitated. "It probably sounds selfish, but I'm also happy we're finally friends at last. I always longed for it deep down. You were always there . . . and I wanted so badly for you to be my friend. I thought it would never happen."

"Neither did I," Yami Bakura said. "I picked up on your thoughts, and I couldn't imagine why you would want me for a friend. I figured it was only because you were lonely, not because you actually liked me."

"Well . . . I certainly came to like you more as time wore on," Bakura said. "But it was only after you were given the Infinity Ring and we really had a chance to bond that I realized I had come to love you."

"And it took me still longer," Yami Bakura grunted. "I knew I wanted to protect you, but I couldn't understand why or what it was that I felt for you."

"That's understandable, when you'd been without love for so long," Bakura said. "You'd forgotten what it really felt like to love someone."

"And yet I was protective nevertheless." Yami Bakura looked at him. "There's something I never told you about why I don't regret what I did to Bonz and his cronies."

"Oh?" Bakura blinked in surprise. "What's that?"

"I doubt I will ever regret it, because of what they did to you at Duelist Kingdom," Yami Bakura said. "They sealed you in that cave with Yugi and the others, and to my knowledge they had no idea that there was any other way out. In other words, they deliberately left you there to die." His eyes darkened. "I wasn't about to forgive that. It even meant so little to them that they couldn't remember you several weeks later during Battle City. That was the final straw; I knew I was going to teach them all a lesson they wouldn't soon forget."

"Yami . . ." Bakura stared at him. "I thought you were so angry with me because I wouldn't help you at Duelist Kingdom. . . ."

"I was angry, but oddly enough, your refusal also made me respect you more," Yami Bakura said. "In any case, when I saw you in danger, my anger was put on the back burner."

Bakura smiled. "And you saved me and Tristan and Téa from Pegasus."

"Yes."

"You always did look out for me," Bakura said softly. "I wanted to believe you cared because of that."

"And I always did," Yami Bakura gruffly told him. "Even though I didn't understand it until later."

Bakura hesitated. "Tell me something, Yami. . . . Did the Ring negatively affect everyone who held it?"

Yami Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Odd that you should bring that up. Yes, it seemed to badly affect all who came in contact with it, in some way. Most fell to the darkness. And even though you didn't, you had to suffer through being possessed. The only one who never seemed to be negatively affected by it was Mahad, the Pharaoh's servant."

"Oh?" Bakura blinked. "I wonder how he escaped. . . ."

"Who knows." Yami Bakura shrugged. "I can't even say it was because he was so pure, because honestly, he had darkness in him just like everyone else does. Although I must admit I was surprised when he was the one pulling most of the dirty tricks in the duel I had with him."

"Really?!" Bakura regarded him in surprise.

"Apparently he was so determined to stop me that he didn't care if he resorted to underhanded tactics. First he had his men seal us both inside the battleground. Then he used a Shadow Ghoul to creep around on the walls and attack from behind. And he hid the place's traps with magic hoping I would step into them unawares. I did, and one clamped around my ankle. It looked like a modern bear trap."

"Oh my!" Bakura gasped.

"My leg might have been permanently damaged if it wasn't that it clamped around the ankle bracelet I was wearing," Yami Bakura said.

"Thank Heavens for that," Bakura declared.

"Well, thank something," Yami Bakura shrugged. "I can hardly believe Heaven had anything to do with saving me from that, especially considering my misguided actions at the time."

Bakura smiled at him. "I can believe it, for exactly that reason. You were misguided, Yami. You didn't know you were fighting someone who really didn't have any knowledge of Kul Elna. When you finally learned the truth and had a chance for a different life here with me, you changed. And God knew that would happen."

"Eh." Yami Bakura knew there would be no convincing Bakura otherwise, so he just shrugged.

"How did you ever get free?!" Bakura exclaimed.

"Well, to finish it off, or should I say, finish _me_ off, he activated sharp pendulums that fell from the ceiling and tried to cut me in half while I was unable to move."

Bakura was horrified. "Yami!"

"Fortunately for me, I was able to use it to my advantage and get the pendulum to break the trap holding me. And then I tried to use the traps against Mahad." Yami Bakura shrugged again. "I took a great deal of sadistic pleasure in it."

"Under the circumstances, when you believed the priests were in on the destruction of Kul Elna, it's quite understandable," Bakura said softly. "But you wouldn't have even had the idea to use them if Mahad hadn't tried to use them on you first." He paused. "I always heard such good things about Mahad. How loyal he was to the Pharaoh and an eternal friend. . . . This is quite a new side to him. . . ."

"Naturally you would hear good things about him," Yami Bakura said. "He and I were the only ones who knew what happened in that chamber. Of course, then again, who's to say he wasn't justified? I was a threat to the kingdom and to his precious Pharaoh. He went to extremes to stop me and he no doubt felt that it was right. In his position, I probably would have felt the same. As it was, I was going to extremes on a quest that I felt was right as well."

"I suppose," Bakura sighed. "All the same, it does trouble me. Especially restraining you and then trying to kill you in such a horrible way! I don't believe that could ever be justified. Yami . . . did you ever think that perhaps he really was affected by the darkness of the Ring and that's why he acted that way?"

"No, not especially," Yami Bakura said. "Not everyone's dark actions can be waved away by saying they were influenced by an evil force. And I never thought Mahad's actions were. I just assumed he was showing the dark part of himself that had always been there and perhaps just hadn't been let out before."

"Maybe that's true," Bakura said. "But either way, I'm very troubled by this. Have you ever told anyone else?"

"Of course not," Yami Bakura snorted. "What would be the point? It's not likely they would even believe me anyway. Or they might think Mahad was justified."

"I can't believe they would think that," Bakura insisted. "And the point . . . well, I guess simply to show that even one of the supposed 'good guys' doesn't always behave in an exemplary way."

"To make myself look better?" Yami Bakura grunted. "I would never do that."

"I know," Bakura was quick to say. "That's not what I meant. I guess I just feel sad that they think so poorly of you when you weren't the only one doing terrible things. Especially when they praise Mahad so much. . . ."

"They think better of me than they did," Yami Bakura said. "Although I imagine Joey and Tristan are both still confused regardless."

"I think they are," Bakura mused, "but they have definitely been extending more trust to you now. Your saving Tristan and being hurt in the process certainly went a long way toward his and Joey's feelings changing in a positive manner. And your trying so hard to help Marik also helped."

"And I only did either thing because I was the only one around who could help," Yami Bakura flatly said.

Bakura smiled a bit wistfully. "You probably always will think of it like that, won't you, Yami?"

"It's the truth," Yami Bakura insisted.

"I know, but you also didn't want them to be hurt," Bakura said. "So, since you were the only one who could help, you did."

Yami Bakura didn't offer an answer. Instead he said, "I am still a dark soul. In addition to the feelings of hatred and vengeance that can rise in my heart, Zorc infused me with his attitudes and opinions on darkness versus light. I can't even say I disagree with all of them."

"What did Zorc say?" Bakura asked.

Yami Bakura sighed, staring off into the distance. "That darkness grows more hateful each time the light extinguishes it, and it always comes back more powerful and vengeful than before. Darkness is necessary because without it, people can't properly contemplate their existence. The light can't exist without the darkness."

"Oh . . . is that all?"

Yami Bakura turned to look at Bakura in surprised shock.

"Zorc was right, really," Bakura said. "If there was no darkness, there would be nothing to compare the light to. How would anyone know right from wrong or good from bad if both didn't exist?" He gave a warm smile. "The important thing is what you do with that knowledge, Yami. You're not committing dark deeds now that you and Zorc are separated and now that you're not filled with overwhelming hate all the time. Just because you know the darkness is necessary doesn't mean you're a part of it. You want to walk a different path now."

"But if darkness is my nature, how can I?" Yami Bakura retorted.

"Darkness is Zorc's nature," Bakura insisted. "Everyone is tempted to do wrong, but not everyone follows through. You're trying to be a better person now, something you never really had a fair chance to do before."

"Just because I'm not doing dark deeds doesn't make me good," Yami Bakura insisted.

"It means you're trying," Bakura said. "I know a lot of it is your fear of the Infinity Ring turning against you, but it's not just that, is it?"

Yami Bakura looked away. "Perhaps not."

"Then what?"

"Perhaps . . . I want to see if I can do it . . . if someday I can truly believe in it." Yami Bakura looked tired. "Right now, I honestly don't know what I believe in. Hatred ruled my life from the time I was six years old. It drove everything I did. Now I don't have that anymore. I don't know what to put my mind to other than trying to command the Infinity Ring. And it apparently requires a user who will use it for good. But what is good? Everyone has their own definition of it. I consider that sending the White Death to the Shadow Realm was good, but some would consider that bad."

Bakura bit his lip. "I don't know. . . . I personally consider that good as well, I have to admit. And honestly, I think it was good when you wanted to fight against an evil that would wipe out an entire village to create magical items. You just went about it the wrong way."

"Perhaps," Yami Bakura grunted. "I must admit, I still don't think it was wrong that I believed the Millennium Items were rightfully mine."

"I think they were, if they were rightfully anybody's other than Zorc's," Bakura said softly. "When you first came to me, I was so much younger. I didn't understand what I was promising when I told you I would help you get all of them. But I remember believing you when you said they were yours." He smiled sadly. "Yami, I think you were always good, really. Just misguided. Then Zorc got hold of you and changed you. But not completely. Not permanently. You were still _you_ inside. Now you finally are again."

Yami Bakura looked away. "I'll admit that in some factions, I would have been considered good in my day, at least when it came to going after the Pharaoh and company to right a wrong I believed they supported. I myself certainly thought I was in the right."

"And had you been right about all that you thought you were, I believe you would have been justified in going after them," Bakura said. "Of course, I believe hatred is wrong and hurts the person who bears it more than anyone else. But it would be hard not to be angry . . . no, absolutely enraged, when you believed they all thought it was perfectly alright to sacrifice an entire village alive to further their sick quest for power."

"Nothing else could have outraged me as much," Yami Bakura said. "And I can't deny that I still have that strong desire for justice, as you pointed out. People's ideas of what is good changes with the times. My justice would be considered too dark or too harsh now, but it wasn't back then. And I still believe in it, when the right people are targeted."

"Your ideas have changed too, Yami," Bakura said softly. "You made those people who tricked me into getting drunk experience what I would feel because of them, instead of sending them to the Shadow Realm. And it wouldn't even be a permanent spell. It would only last until they recognized and were sorry for what they had done to me."

"Heh. Have my ideas changed, or am I just going soft? Or was I just afraid of the Infinity Ring turning on me if I did anything more drastic?" Yami Bakura leaned back. "I don't know."

"Actually, I think it's more drastic to make them feel what they caused me to feel," Bakura said. "More to the point, certainly. I think it taught them quite the lesson. They haven't bothered me since."

"Good," Yami Bakura grunted.

"In any case, you're worlds apart from people who do horrible things like deliberately targeting innocent people and somehow think they're doing good," Bakura said. "Most people would consider that abominable."

"I was just as bad as they when I went tearing through the streets of Egypt forcing the Pharaoh to chase me," Yami Bakura said. "Countless people could have been harmed during our battle."

"But that was after Zorc corrupted you," Bakura said. "By your own admission, you didn't think of doing anything like that on your own. You only wanted to target the Pharaoh and his priests."

"I still did it. And I still did all the abominable things to you and your friends," Yami Bakura said.

"They're starting to trust you now, Yami," Bakura said softly. "If they haven't forgiven you yet, I'm sure that will come too. They can forgive everyone else, for Heaven's sake! Why not you?"

"Maybe because the others always thought they were doing the right things," Yami Bakura grunted. "But after Zorc corrupted me, on many occasions I knew I was doing wrong and I didn't care."

"You were out of your mind," Bakura said. "And you care now."

"But for my own salvation or because I honestly don't want to follow a path that brings suffering and misery to other people?" Yami Bakura leaned farther back against the window and looked down at Bakura. "I still can't answer that question, Bakura."

"The fact that you're asking the question at all says a lot," Bakura said softly. He squeezed the callused hand. "You'll find the answer. And it will be the right one."

Yami Bakura just regarded him in disbelieving amazement. How did someone as dark and harsh as he deserve the love of such a kind and gentle soul?

That was another question to which he doubted he would ever find the answer.

xxxx

Seto frowned as he sat in his office, typing on his computer. He was putting the finishing touches on his augmented reality program at long last. He had needed to do some overhauling of the program due to Yami Marik's interference, but now, thankfully, it was all done. Tonight he would deliver the program to Kaiba Land and start setting it up.

The rain pelting on the windows took on a new sound. _"Seto Kaiba . . . we're still coming for you."_ At least, that was certainly what it sounded like.

Seto jumped a mile, turning to glower out the window before returning to his computer work. There was nothing out there, of course. He must still be jumpy after his experience with that serial killer. The man had hypnotized Seto into believing Gozaburo was coming back to haunt him. Now the voice at the window had sounded like Lector of the Big Five.

Try as he might to fight against it, the experience with the fake Gozaburo had left Seto thinking deeply on the past ever since. He hated it. He wanted to put the past behind him and focus on the future. But the memories persisted in plaguing him anyway. He had even started to wonder if he could have done something different, both in how he had handled the Big Five and in how he had orchestrated the takeover of KaibaCorp.

On the former he didn't think he could have done much different. He had promised the Big Five that they would rule the company with him, but he had thought they would share his vision of a new KaibaCorp. That had been a foolish and naive mistake. They had wanted the company to proceed as a weapons manufacturer and had been completely against Seto's ideas of transforming it into something fun and family-friendly. And Seto had had no choice but to veto most of their plans and take away much of the power he had promised them.

In retrospect, he should have realized they wouldn't be interested in a gaming corporation. He had thought showing them how profitable it would be would change their minds. But he had always been somewhat naive about them, until they had tried to trap him in his own virtual reality world and he had realized at last how dangerous they were.

As for his plan to take over KaibaCorp, he had wondered more than once if he should have let Mokuba in on it. But he had had a legitimate reason for not doing so, really. He had wanted Mokuba's reactions to be thoroughly believable when Seto accused him of telling Gozaburo, and if Mokuba had known it was all part of a plot to trick Gozaburo, he might not have been able to act convincingly enough. Seto had hated treating him that way; it had been one of the worst days of both of their lives. But he had only done it because he felt that in the end, it would assure their victory over Gozaburo's cruelty, and that then they would be free to live their own lives without him.

Mokuba had never asked Seto why he had done it. Even though he had been crushed, he had rallied to Seto's aid in the end anyway, just as Seto had known he would. And Seto had never explained his actions. Maybe, he thought now, he really should have. Maybe he still should. Only he hated to bring up the past. He didn't want to be the one to do it.

He closed the laptop and stood. It was time to go to Kaiba Land, in spite of the rain. He would collect Mokuba and go. And hopefully, the ghosts of the past would not keep haunting him along the way. Now the rain was starting to sound like the echoing laughter of all members of the Big Five.

His lip curling in disgust, he strode out of his office and slammed the door behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Yami Bakura had settled down with the day's newspaper. Oh, not that he particularly cared what was happening, but it was something to do, and every now and then there actually was reason to care. He turned the page and found himself looking at a story about the former KaibaCorp board of directors. An eyebrow quirked in his surprise.

Bakura was passing by with two mugs of hot chocolate. "What is it, Yami?"

Yami Bakura took one when offered. "I don't think I ever realized exactly what happened to these fools," he said. "I remember them because of the portion of my spirit locked in the Millennium Puzzle at the time they tried to abduct many of your friends. This article claims there was an accident that left all five of them in comas. I was under the impression that their bodies were all dead."

"So was I," Bakura frowned. "And yet I was confused, because I couldn't feature Seto Kaiba just leaving their bodies locked in the virtual pods until they withered away." He took a sip of hot chocolate. "I found out that his medical teams had tried to revive them, but to no avail since their spirits were trapped in the virtual reality game due to their own twisted rules. So they were taken to the KaibaCorp infirmary and left there in comas. Whether or not they're still there, I don't know. Maybe their bodies all gave out."

"This article also poses the question as to whether the accident was an accident," Yami Bakura remarked. "I doubt the Kaiba brothers will take kindly to the insinuation that Seto Kaiba may have deliberately done something to them."

"Oh my. They certainly won't," Bakura exclaimed.

"That reporter will probably be out of a job tomorrow," Yami Bakura grunted. "If the entire paper isn't just shut down instead."

"I think Seto Kaiba would have a right to be angry," Bakura said. "Especially since the only things he did were in self-defense and the defense of his younger brother. He didn't deliberately trap anyone, but he couldn't get the Big Five out after their plan backfired and they were trapped instead. They were the ones who were committing criminal acts and deliberately imprisoning people. But I suppose there is no applicable law to arrest someone for trapping someone else in a virtual reality world. . . ."

"Heh. If it becomes more widespread, someday there might be," Yami Bakura retorted.

"What a horrible thought," Bakura shuddered. "I hope Seto Kaiba's augmented reality game will be far more foolproof."

"It's not immune from hijacking either, as that demon proved," Yami Bakura said flatly. "Honestly, anything can be turned into a weapon if someone is determined enough."

"How sad," Bakura sighed. "But true."

Yami Bakura set the paper aside. "And we still don't know any more about the Infinity Items, either," he grunted. "That professor's research has been almost useless."

Bakura couldn't deny that. "Well, at least it's interesting," he said with a weak smile. "That ancient scene depicting someone in Rome fighting evil with the Infinity Ring was worth seeing."

"I am hardly the next Captain America," Yami Bakura said with dripping sarcasm. "I will never be one of those goody-goody heroes such as that scene depicts and such as your friends are."

"You'll never be a conventional hero," Bakura agreed. "But you already are a hero, Yami. I saw that long ago, and the others are starting to." He smiled. "I have every faith in you."

Yami Bakura looked back down at the newspaper, humbled and amazed. "I know."

xxxx

As it turned out, Mokuba was more upset about the story in the paper than Seto was. When Seto left his office and found Mokuba and Marik in the outer office, Mokuba was waving the newspaper and fuming.

"I can't believe this creep!" the boy cried. "Trying to make it sound like Seto did something wrong about the Big Five!"

"It's not the first time your brother has been the target of an unpleasant news story," Marik pointed out.

"No, but it sure makes me mad anyway," Mokuba said. "The Big Five were the real creeps there!"

"What's going on?" Seto interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh! Seto!" Mokuba jumped a mile and turned to look at his beloved brother. "We found this story in the newspaper that's just awful!"

Seto took the paper as Mokuba waved it again and glanced over the story. "Hmph." He handed it back.

Mokuba blinked at him. "Aren't you mad, Seto?"

"I'm not jumping for joy. But I'm going to show my critics the value of what I've been working on. They can judge from that." Seto started walking again, heading for the elevator.

Mokuba and Marik chased after him. "But . . . that won't tell anyone that you didn't do anything to the Big Five," Mokuba protested.

"We don't need to tell anyone that," Seto replied. "Not unless the police show up thinking they've got a case against me." Inwardly he scowled. First he imagined the Big Five cackling at him outside the window and now this. One's past really didn't leave them alone.

Mokuba sighed. "If you say so." The three climbed aboard the elevator and Mokuba pressed the button for the ground floor.

Marik folded his arms. "What happened to them anyway?" He had also witnessed the events of Noa's virtual reality world, through Téa's eyes. It wasn't something he had ever mentioned, but he thought about it sometimes. It had been a strange, strange experience.

Mokuba paused. "You know, I'm not sure," he realized. "The last we heard about them at all was that Noa was banishing them to different parts of his world. Well . . . I didn't even know about that until I asked someone later, when I was myself again. . . ."

Seto didn't comment. The last thing he wanted to think about was when Noa had hypnotized Mokuba against him.

"And then the computer was destroyed, so the virtual reality world was as well," Marik mused. "They must have been destroyed with it. Or sent on to the afterlife. . . ."

 _One can only hope,_ Seto thought.

"That's what we figured," Mokuba said. "Their bodies are still at the KaibaCorp medical center, though. . . . But I guess their spirits don't have any way to get back to them. If they did, they would have woke up by now."

"I thought they said they lost their bodies," Marik said in surprise.

"They meant they didn't have any way to get back to them," Mokuba said. "Their bodies weren't connected to the virtual pods anymore, so their spirits were trapped even if they'd found a way to beat the game."

"I see," Marik said, and he felt like shuddering in spite of himself. The Big Five had been horrible, but to not be technically dead and yet not have a way to get back into one's body sounded like a nightmarish fate. It reminded him a little too much of when Yami Marik had kicked him out of his body.

"There's no need to talk about them any more," Seto cut in. "They're not going to bother us again." The elevator reached the bottom and he got out, his dark coat sweeping out behind him.

Marik and Mokuba followed. "What do you need to do to get this augmented reality game ready?" Marik asked.

"Just install it on the Kaiba Land computer system," Seto said. "It's already been checked and rechecked for bugs."

"It'll be great!" Mokuba beamed. "After Seto installs it, we can try it out to make sure everything's running properly!"

Marik smiled at his friend's enthusiasm. Hopefully, he thought, everything would work the way it was supposed to. Heaven knew they needed something to go right after all the calamities.

xxxx

Yugi sighed as he glanced up at the rain pelting on the door and windows of the Turtle Game Shop. There had been less customers today because of it, something that always depressed his grandfather. Hopefully things would look up soon, but with Domino City entering the summer rainy season, it would likely be like this for a while. Then things would eventually pick up again and Solomon Muto would perk up too.

He looked back down at the cards he had been absently shuffling on the glass counter. Things had been awkward since his mother's return from her business trip. Explaining about Atem and who he was and how Yugi had met him had been . . . awkward, to say the least. Interesting too, but not really in a good way. She was still trying to get over her repulsion and horror at Atem having been an ancient spirit sharing Yugi's body to exist on the mortal plane. Explaining that it had only been with Yugi's permission hadn't really helped.

" _Well, you can't blame her,"_ Atem had told Yugi afterwards. _"That's hardly the kind of thing that would endear someone to most people."_

" _I know,"_ Yugi had sighed, _"but I wanted her to like you."_

" _And I believe she will,"_ Atem had encouraged. _"Give her time."_

At least, Yugi mused, she hadn't kicked Atem out of the house. But then again, maybe that was only because it was Solomon's house and it wasn't really up to her. She was having trouble coming to terms with Solomon having known about Atem almost all the time, too.

"So, Yug . . ." Joey suddenly cut into Yugi's thoughts. "You heard anything from Bakura lately?"

Tristan nodded. "We haven't seen much of him for a couple of weeks."

Yugi started back to the present. "Oh. Yeah, I have, actually. He said he and Yami Bakura are fine and Yami Bakura is healing nicely. But I have the feeling that a lot more may have happened to them in the last weeks than he said."

"Well, one thing we know about was how those creeps tricked him into getting drunk," Tristan said in disgust. "They really should have been kicked out of the school for that."

"They still might be," Téa said, her eyes flashing, "if their parents don't completely railroad the principal and bully him into letting the whole thing drop."

"Honestly, the way things go, I'm sure they will," Tristan said.

"It's not right," Téa spat. "Especially since Bakura could have been seriously hurt when he fell out that window!"

"I hear you, Téa, but unfortunately, money talks," Tristan said.

"Just like Kaiba's always does." Joey was staring at the newspaper now. It was spread out on the counter and he was leaning over it, his hands on either side of a story that had caught his eye.

Yugi looked over in surprise. "What is it, Joey?"

"This story in the paper about the Big Five and Kaiba," Joey said. "The reporter's making it sound like Kaiba deliberately trapped those suits in his virtual reality world!"

"That's not cool," Téa frowned. "They were the ones who trapped him!"

Atem nodded. "All Kaiba did was get out. It wasn't his fault that the Big Five's own rule was turned against them."

Yugi sighed. "I wonder why a story like this is coming out right now."

"Probably because Kaiba is getting ready to debut his augmented reality game," Tristan said. "You know how people love to try to dig up dirt on someone when they're in the spotlight."

"A story like this could cause sales of the game to drop off," Yugi said with a frown.

"Maybe that's even what the reporter wants," Tristan said. "Kaiba's got no shortage of enemies."

"And a lot of them probably have good reason to hate him," Joey said. Glancing at Yugi, he amended, "Although I guess the picture could change if you don't know the whole story and find it out later. . . ."

Yugi nodded. "It sure can. But even if they have good reasons to be upset with him, it doesn't give them the right to try to ruin him on purpose."

"Well . . ." Joey shrugged. "Tomorrow they'll probably have to print a retraction or something."

"Or they'll all be fired," Tristan added.

Yugi sighed. "I just hope everything will go well with the game. I'm sure Kaiba's tested it for bugs after Yami Marik tried to use it for evil, but I'll feel a lot better when we can all see it's working perfectly."

"I'm sure it's fine, Yugi," Atem smiled.

"Once it's up, we should all go check it out," Téa said. "It looked awesome before Yami Marik got hold of it!"

Yugi nodded. "We'll make a day of it! It would be great to play a game just for fun, without any evil nutcases trying to use it to conquer the world."

"Man, you said it," Joey said. "And if the rain lets up, maybe we should all go say Hi to Bakura. And Yami Bakura too. Just see how they're doing."

"That's a good idea, Joey," Yugi smiled. "We should definitely try to include them more. Particularly since you and Tristan haven't been feeling so on the rocks with Yami Bakura lately."

"Eh. It's hard to when he goes and saves Tristan," Joey said. "And does his best to try to save Marik too." He shrugged. "I don't know. . . . Maybe we really haven't been fair to the guy. He's a grouch, but he hasn't done anything actually wrong since Zorc was destroyed."

Tristan sighed but nodded. "Bakura said it wasn't fair to forgive and trust Marik and the bikers and Dartz and not Yami Bakura too. Of course he's right. I'd probably be in Davy Jones' locker right now if it wasn't for Yami Bakura. As weird as it sounds to say that."

"I'm glad we're finally all on the road to being united again," Yugi smiled. "We were having some rough patches there."

Joey and Tristan fell silent. To some extent, they still were. Yami Bakura hadn't been the only source of conflict in the group; Duke's interest in Serenity, and her finally reciprocating, were more hurdles that hadn't quite ever been conquered. David Tanaka's anger towards the group for excluding Duke was another.

"Well," Atem said, "the rain is easing up. Perhaps we should see if Duke would like to come with us to visit Bakura."

Yugi perked up. "That's a good idea! We should." He headed for the door. "Coming, guys?"

The others followed, Tristan somewhat reluctantly. But at least, he hoped, Serenity wasn't at Duke's shop right now.

xxxx

Serenity wasn't. But Duke was leaning against the counter, idly spreading dice through his fingers while David looked on.

"I never did like slow days," David said.

"I know," Duke replied. "They make it hard to rake in the profits."

"Well, when you're right, you're right," David smirked. "But one thing I do enjoy about slow days is seeing what lengths you'll go to to combat your boredom."

"Ha ha." Duke spread the dice out on the counter.

"Seriously, Duke. . . ." David sobered, peering at the younger boy in concern. "Are you really alright after what happened with that serial killer?"

"I'm fine," Duke insisted. "The stab wound wasn't serious and the headaches healed up long ago."

"I hope you're telling me the whole truth," David said. "I've been leery of Pegasus for a long time, but I wasn't expecting that you'd be in danger from some nutcase trying to kill him!"

"Who would?" Duke retorted. "It wasn't exactly how I planned for our meeting to go."

"At least Kaiba finally stopped that creep," David said. "Although I still don't get exactly how. You'd think I'd be used to magic and the supernatural by now."

"You'd think we all would. Huh?" Duke looked to the doors with a start as Yugi and company entered. "Hey, guys. What's up?"

"We thought we'd stop in and see how everything's going, Duke," Yugi smiled. "And ask if you'd like to come with us to visit Bakura."

Duke blinked in surprise. "Everything's fine here. Slow, though. Sure, I'll come with you." He glanced to David. "You can hold the fort down here for a while, can't you?"

David shrugged and spread his arms. "I always do."

Yugi looked to him with a genuine smile. "Hi, David."

David nodded. "Hello. You just bring Duke back without any more owwies, you hear?"

Duke flushed. David was on the one hand phrasing it like a joke, but on the other hand, he really meant it. And judging from all the recent calamities, it wasn't so off the wall to worry.

"Everything should be fine," Tristan spoke up.

"That's how it always begins," David remarked, and no one could deny that, either.

xxxx

Marik looked around as they arrived at Kaiba Land. Seto hadn't actually invited him, but since he had been with Mokuba and Seto hadn't told him to go, Marik had taken that as the Okay to come along. He was happy to help set things up if he could. Right now, Kaiba Land was largely deserted, but that was fine while they got the program ready to go.

Mokuba hopped out of the limousine when they reached the building. "We had some extra dueling arenas in here," he said. "They haven't been as popular since Seto perfected the Duel Disk system, so he decided to downgrade and put the augmented reality game in here instead."

"That sounds logical to me," Marik said as he followed.

Seto got out and walked ahead of them to the door. He swiped the card key through the slot and the door slid open, revealing what was currently a large, bare room.

Mokuba grinned as he scampered in after his brother. "Perfect! People can boot up the game and change the way the whole room looks! And there won't be any nutcases to get in the way and try to use it themselves!"

"Which is something we all appreciate," Seto grunted. He crossed the room to a computer console and sat down. Once he had connected the laptop to the console, he began to type.

Marik pulled the door shut and folded his arms to watch. He imagined it would be fairly dull until Seto had the game fully installed, and judging from everything that was part of it, the installation could take quite some time.

Mokuba wasn't having any problems with finding things to do. He ran around the room, calling back to Marik about all the awesome levels in the game and all the different ways the room could be made to look because of them. Marik listened and smiled, occasionally glancing back to Seto to see how things were coming. Seto just continued to work, not distracted in the least by Mokuba's enthusiasm. When at last he stood, with an exclamation of "There!" both friends looked up.

"Alright!" Mokuba grinned. "This is gonna be awesome!"

The room glowed, shimmered, and switched to what looked like a meadow with a blue sky. A feminine voice from the computer intoned, _"Welcome to Duel Monster Days at Kaiba Land."_

Marik looked around in curious approval. "Impressive. What now?"

"Now we just start walking," Seto said. "Some of this game is a little like _Pokemon Go_ , as Wheeler surmised. When you see a Duel Monster, you can try to entice it to come with you. Then you can choose to either keep going through this level as an adventure zone or else bring your friend back with you to the city."

Mokuba nodded. "If you choose the latter, the scenery will change to downtown Domino City," he beamed. "There'll be other Duel Monsters there."

"Like the Injection Fairy Lily receptionist we saw during your beta test?" Marik asked.

"Exactly," Mokuba said.

The trio wandered about the level for several minutes. Even though they continued to stay in the room, the scenery changed as they walked, giving the illusion of an open space. After a while, trees and a forest began to appear.

"I see something up in that tree," Marik announced after a moment. He walked closer and the branches quivered.

"I think it's a Faith Bird," Mokuba said, squinting through the leaves.

"So exactly how do you entice it to come down?" Marik wondered.

"Well, like Seto said before, they're programmed with free will, like Sims, so you're never sure what they're gonna do." Mokuba held his arm up like a perch. "But with a bird, you can always try this first."

After a moment the Faith Bird screeched and flew down to Mokuba's arm. He grinned, petting it. "It feels just like the real thing," he announced.

Marik cautiously reached out to pet it as well. "It does," he said in surprise.

Seto looked pleased. "I spared no expense to have the best three-dimensional, solid holograms on the market."

"You certainly do," Marik said. "Is your home console version of the game going to come out at the same time?"

"People will be able to purchase them here," Seto said. "Of course, it won't be like the full Kaiba Land experience, but it will be something for days when going out isn't convenient. Both ways of playing the game should be popular."

"It'll be a while before the home consoles are really ready," Mokuba said. "We're testing the prototypes now."

Seto nodded. "With the full version now operational, I'm going to turn my attention to the home console version next. But first, Mokuba and I are going to beta-test every level of this game to make absolutely sure all the bugs are out. Then if all goes well, it should be ready to debut tomorrow."

"You'll probably be up all night testing levels," Marik remarked.

"Probably, but it'll be worth it," Mokuba said. "And fun!"

"You're welcome to stay and keep testing them with us," Seto said.

"Thank you. I'll stay for a while," Marik said, "but then I should really get home." He looked around in increasing fascination. "Although it's going to be hard to tear myself away. . . ."

Mokuba practically burst with pride for Seto's invention. "Seto always comes up with the most awesome stuff!" he exclaimed.

Seto kept walking ahead, but he was hiding a smile. He was definitely pleased and proud of his work. But more than that, he loved his brother's unfailing support. Through thick and thin, they had always had each other to rely on. Nothing and no one could change that—not even Seto's actions in the past or Noa's cruel hypnosis.

"He does," Marik agreed. He hesitated. "Tell me, Mokuba, how are things with your school friends lately? You seemed so excited about being with them when you first met them, but lately you haven't been with them as much again."

"I know." Mokuba grabbed a fake leaf, pulled it off a fake bush, and twirled it around between his fingers. "It's kind of funny, I guess. . . . I wanted kids my age to like me and want to do stuff with me, and then when some of them finally did, it was fun to hang out for a while. But in the end, well . . . I guess I still like hanging out with people older than me more. Seto's always wanted me to have a normal childhood, and in a lot of ways, I have. But I've also seen things that kids my age never have and probably never will. And I've spent all my life with Seto, and . . . I don't know, I feel like I relate better to him and you and Yugi and everyone than I do to kids my own age."

"And that's fine," Marik smiled. "I have to admit I'm glad that we can be together more again. I missed you."

"Yeah. . . . I missed you too." Mokuba tossed the leaf aside and grinned. "So let's find some more Duel Monsters and see what else this place has in store for us!" He took off running.

"Alright," Marik laughed. "Wait up!" He chased after his friend.

Unseen by all of them were five figures waiting in the shadows.

"I don't remember that boy before," the oldest man frowned.

"Obviously he's a friend of young Mokuba's," the tallest man drawled in a Southern accent.

"So he'll be caught up in things this time too," a mustached man growled. "Not that we're interested in Mokuba, for that matter, but he's automatically involved in anything we do to Seto."

"From our research and observations over the past months, it also looks like a white-haired boy will be involved," another man mused as he adjusted his glasses. "And a somewhat older man claiming to be his ancestor."

"Nonsense," snorted the fifth man.

"Oh, it's not nonsense," the oldest man grunted. "As you have all seen, I was right about the two Yugis. The other is Yugi's ancient ancestor. What they're doing in the present-day is of no concern to us. The important thing is that our plan to utilize Seto Kaiba's augmented reality device to bring us into the real world has worked! And due to his technology, we have solid bodies of a sort."

"Still not as good as our real bodies," the Southern man grumbled. "But right now we'll take what we can get."

"We were lucky that we were bound enough to our real bodies that we returned to them when Noa's world was destroyed," the mustached man said. "Too bad we weren't able to bring them out of their comas."

"That will hopefully come in time," the oldest man retorted, "when we have full access to all the technology we need. Right now, we need to focus on our plan to take over Domino City and KaibaCorp."

They all laughed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes: I edited Duke's retelling of the Big Five's escapades to David, because oddly enough, the dub actually put in the thing about them wanting Seto dead while they were conspiring with Pegasus when it wasn't in the original. I'd rather not have the thing about killing Seto in there, and I'd really rather not have it be Lector suggesting it regardless, because the designs and voices are so different in those early episodes, I can't really tell who said what aside from Gansley.**

 **Chapter Three**

With the rain, it had been a quiet and fairly peaceful day at the Bakura household. Mr. Bakura was still at the museum, and Ryou Bakura had thought it might be fun to play a casual duel against Yami Bakura to pass the time. Yami Bakura agreed.

"You know," he commented when the game was underway, "you're a far better Duelist than most people even know. I wonder if Yugi and his little friends have ever noticed that it's usually either you or Duke Devlin giving commentary on the duels and how the game is played."

"Well . . ." Bakura flushed. "I don't like to advertise my knowledge, really. . . ."

"Knowing the ins and outs of the game doesn't make you a stuck-up know-it-all," Yami Bakura grunted. "Honestly, you could probably win a tournament sometime, if you ever had a mind to enter."

Bakura looked at him with a start. "You really mean that," he said in awed amazement.

"Of course I mean it," Yami Bakura retorted. "And it seems a pity you keep your talent mostly hidden. Isn't there even some scripture in your religion about not hiding your talent under a bush?"

"Something like that." Bakura scratched his cheek, embarrassed. "I just don't have any desire for the fame. I'd rather just play Duel Monsters quietly, for fun."

"The money couldn't hurt," Yami Bakura said.

"I suppose," Bakura had to consent. "But then why don't you enter sometime, Yami?"

"I?" Yami Bakura blinked.

"Yes! After all, you're a far better Duelist than I am," Bakura smiled. "Look at the score right now. You're just about to beat me."

Yami Bakura laid his final card down and Bakura's lifepoints dropped to zero. "But you gave me a challenge. I can't say that about many Duelists. As for entering tournaments . . ." He paused. "You know, I never actually thought about it. I've always only played for far higher stakes. Now there isn't any of that anymore."

"You should consider it, Yami," Bakura smiled. "You were wondering what kind of job you could have. You said you only knew about thievery and using magic. Well, you also know about dueling, and quite a few people have made profitable careers as professional Duelists. It would probably be something you would actually enjoy doing, and how many people get to have a job they love?"

". . . You make a good point," Yami Bakura mused. "And teasing my pathetic competition would be enjoyable as well."

"Oh, Yami!" But Bakura was chuckling. It would just be harmless teasing now; no danger of being sent to the Shadow Realm.

When the doorbell rang, it startled them both. Yami Bakura got up first and went over to look through the peephole. "It's Yugi and the others," he said in some surprise. He opened the door.

"Hi there," Yugi smiled. In the past he would have felt intimidated greeting Yami Bakura, but now he didn't.

"Hello," Yami Bakura acknowledged with a nod. He stepped back, opening the door wider. "Come in."

"Thanks." Yugi did so, and the rest of the group trouped in after him. "How are you guys doing?"

"We're fine," Yami Bakura grunted.

Bakura got up and went over to greet their guests. "Hello, everyone," he smiled. "This is a nice surprise."

Téa looked to him. "Are you really doing okay, Bakura?" she asked. "We haven't seen much of you outside of school lately."

"I hope you're not having any lingering effects from those students tricking you into getting drunk," Yugi said in concern.

"Oh no, I'm quite well," Bakura said. "There's just been . . . a lot going on the last couple of weeks. . . ."

"At least you weren't mixed up with that crazy serial killer mess!" Joey exclaimed. "That nutcase was going around trying to murder all the big businessmen!"

"I heard about it on the news." Bakura shuddered. "How awful!"

"It sure was," Duke scowled.

Bakura looked to him. "Are _you_ alright, Duke? I heard you were one of his victims."

"Because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, yeah," Duke said. "But I'm okay."

"I hope so," Bakura exclaimed.

"And I may have saved Pegasus' life by being there, so that's some consolation," Duke added.

"At least what happened sure seemed to change Pegasus for the better," Yugi said. "I have to admit I didn't think he'd ever apologize for what he did, but when he came back with you, Duke, he actually did!"

"And he acted like he really meant it," Téa interjected.

"I'm definitely glad it helped him in that way," Duke said.

Joey was distracted by the remains of the game on the table. "So, what have we got here?" he blinked, peering at the cards.

"Yami and I were just playing Duel Monsters," Bakura explained. "He won, of course."

Tristan glanced at the card layout on the table too. "And he used that lizard again, the one that was bad and turned good." He looked to Yami Bakura. "Hey, I saw some other cards with similar names. It sounded like the character went bad again. If it's the same guy, I mean."

"It's the same one," Yami Bakura agreed. "Although if you saw the cards, you must have seen it wasn't his fault. He went mad from medical implants."

"Yeah?" Joey blinked. "That's a pretty depressing story."

"There's more to it than that," Bakura interjected. "His friend, the one who showed him justice in the first place, found him and got through to him again."

Yami Bakura nodded. "The final card in the series depicts him redeemed once again, and far stronger than before."

Bakura smiled. "Actually, it reminds me of when that horrible Yami Marik tried to hurt Yami with a Shadow Leech and he lost control of himself for a while, but then fought against it and triumphed."

"Or when he fought against the Shadow Poison," Tristan muttered. Louder he said, "Yeah, that does fit."

Yami Bakura quirked an eyebrow. "All of it?"

"Well . . . I guess I don't know if you're stronger than before, but at least you beat back both the poison and the leech," Tristan said. He picked up the card on the table and studied it before setting it down. "That is kind of uncanny, how the guy's story parallels yours so closely."

Joey was now eyeing something else. "H.P. Lovecraft stories?!" He stared at a book on the edge of the table. "Didn't he write all that creepy stuff about the creepy octopus god people were worshipping?!"

"Something like that," Yami Bakura said in amusement. "And did you know that some people in real-life have actually formed cults to worship it?"

"What?!" Joey jerked away from the book. "Why would they do that?! The thing's totally made up! They even know all about its creator!"

Yami Bakura laughed. "Either they believe Lovecraft was writing about something real that he secretly knew about or they have far too much time on their hands."

Joey gulped. ". . . You know, when things like the Leviathan are real, are we so sure Lovecraft's stuff ain't real too?" he quavered.

Duke just rolled his eyes. "Joey, he's trolling you."

"Actually . . . now I'm wondering if the Leviathan could have been the inspiration for Lovecraft's giant worm," Atem spoke up. "If so, perhaps something real also inspired him to create some of his other memorable antagonists."

Joey flinched. "Don't say things like that!" he protested.

Deciding a change of topic was in order, Yugi asked, "So, is that your book, Bakura?"

"It's Yami's, actually," Bakura said.

"You look so surprised," Yami Bakura smirked. "Surely you know I can read. I could hardly play Duel Monsters if I couldn't."

"Yeah, we knew that," Tristan said. "I guess we never thought you'd actually read for pleasure, though."

"As I told you, there are many things about me you probably never would have guessed," Yami Bakura said. "I enjoy reading very much. Mostly horror."

"Okay, now _that_ doesn't surprise me," Tristan said, throwing his hands to the air.

"Of course, I find romance novels to be utterly nonsensical drivel," Yami Bakura grinned.

"Yami Bakura sitting there happily reading Harlequin books . . . yeah, that don't process," Joey shuddered. "That'd be creepier than him reading Lovecraft."

Atem looked amused.

"Say, how do you guys think of each other, anyway?" Joey blurted. "I mean, I know you're friends, but did you ever stop to think about how you're family too? . . . Er, I mean . . . I guess you're family, aren't you?" Suddenly awkward and wondering if he had spoke out of turn, Joey rubbed the back of his neck.

"Of course we are, you dolt," Yami Bakura snorted.

Joey still looked awkward. "But uh . . . how can you guys be related anyway?"

"Joey!" Téa exclaimed.

"I mean, for that, Yami Bakura would have had to have had a kid, or a sibling who had a kid, and uh . . . Yami Bakura was the only one left and he's not exactly Father of the Year material. . . ." Joey trailed off, bumping his forefingers together. It was all too obvious that he was just digging himself into a deeper hole the more he spoke.

Yugi facepalmed.

Yami Bakura looked irritated now. "Well, we'll never know exactly what kind of a father I would have been, will we? My wife didn't give us much chance to find out before she took the boy and left me alone."

Joey went red. "You were married?!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, I was actually married," Yami Bakura shot back.

"Well, uh, that's great," Joey stuttered. "I thought maybe it was a one-night stand or something. . . ."

"I never tried that, believe it or not," Yami Bakura said dryly. "But in any case, yes—Bakura is my direct descendant without a shadow of a doubt." He smirked. "I suppose in some ways, he is the closest thing I have to a son."

Bakura looked to him in surprise.

"Technically you're only about five years apart in age," Tristan said.

"Give or take three thousand," Yami Bakura replied.

". . . Right," Tristan said in chagrin.

"The years do weigh on a soul at times," Atem quietly acknowledged. He had to admit that was something he could understand about Yami Bakura.

Yugi looked to him with concern in his eyes. "But you still want to stay here?" he asked.

"Yes," Atem smiled.

"As do I," Yami Bakura nodded. "We're old, but we have chances to live again and we want to take them."

"And we are so glad," Bakura smiled.

With the awkward moment over, the group settled in and visited for a time. When they departed, Bakura was in good spirits.

"That was nice to see everybody," he smiled as he settled back on the couch.

"It's good that they thought of coming," Yami Bakura admitted. "With everything that's gone on, you haven't felt much like going out lately. But you still wanted company."

"You can read me so well, Yami," Bakura said. "But that's not surprising, really, considering all the years we've spent together." He peered at his friend. "I _was_ surprised by what you said about me being like a son."

"Well, it's true, isn't it?" Yami Bakura said gruffly. "Joey called me your thousand-great-grandfather once. Although he was being sarcastic, it's undeniable that that is biologically our relationship. Oddly enough, my son looked a great deal like you, judging from pictures I've seen of you as an infant. I'd like to think he grew up behaving similarly to you." He studied Bakura. "Do you find that odd or awkward?"

"Oh no." Bakura smiled more. "I'm honored, really. I was just surprised." He hesitated. "But you know, Yami, even though you technically are old, I don't really see you as such."

"Yes, and I imagine Yugi feels the same way about the Pharaoh," Yami Bakura said. "They relate well to each other, even with the immense generation gap. And despite our biological relationship, we're more like strange friends rather than many-great-grandfather and grandson."

"And I am just fine with that," Bakura smiled. Another hesitation. "Yami . . . what Atem said about the years weighing on you. . . . Do you feel like that a lot?"

"Somewhat. Usually I feel it most when I'm in this form. It reminds me of how long I've been around. Perhaps that's also why I like to switch forms," Yami Bakura mused. "I feel younger in the other form, perhaps because it is a form specifically generated for the present-day."

"Well." Bakura smiled and linked arms with him. "I love you just as much in either form."

Yami Bakura looked at him and finally gruffly smiled a bit too. When his wife had left him and taken their son, the last bit of family he had had left had been snatched away. He hadn't thought he would ever have any family again. Now he did.

"Yami . . ." Bakura looked up at him. "What did you name your son?"

"Bakare," Yami Bakura said. "Similar to my name, yet different. When I was younger, I sometimes used it as an alias for myself."

"How did you feel about being a father?"

Yami Bakura paused, staring off into the distance. "Amazed," he said at last. "Overwhelmed, confused . . . and proud. Very proud. Heh." He frowned. "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if Dalilah poisoned him against me."

"Oh, I hope not!" Bakura exclaimed. "I didn't think she left because she was angry at you. . . ."

"Not angry," Yami Bakura agreed. "Although I don't fully know what her reasons were. But she might have spoken against me if she realized I was the madman descending on the Pharaoh's court later in life and disrupting everything."

"But she knew why you were angry, didn't she?" Bakura said in surprise.

"Yes," Yami Bakura admitted. "I just don't know if it would have made a difference. I couldn't really blame her if it didn't. Naturally she wouldn't have wanted the boy to follow in my footsteps, as he might have done if he idolized me. But for all I know, she told him I was dead. It was true before long anyway."

"I'm so sorry, Yami," Bakura said softly.

"Eh." Yami Bakura shrugged. "It's all over and done with. I mostly made a mess out of my mortal life."

"It wasn't entirely your fault," Bakura insisted. "And you haven't been making a mess out of this one. If Dalilah and Bakare are seeing you now, I'm sure they're proud."

"It's a nice thought, anyway," Yami Bakura shrugged.

"If you saw her again, Yami, what would you say to her?" Bakura wondered.

Yami Bakura paused. "I would ask her why she really left me," he said, "and if she ever regretted it. I would ask about our son . . . and tell her about you."

"Do you think she would like me?" Bakura wondered.

"I suppose that might depend on if you reminded her of Bakare as well," Yami Bakura said. "I honestly have no idea how she would feel. But that doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is how I feel about you."

"If you ever did see her, Yami, I'd want to tell her a thing or two for what she did to you," Bakura said.

Yami Bakura regarded him in surprise. But then, slowly, he smirked. "Yes . . . I think you really would." He chuckled low. "You really have started to become assertive."

"Always, when I'm defending my loved ones," Bakura smiled. "You taught me that."

"I suppose I did," Yami Bakura mused.

xxxx

Duke had ended up driving everyone to Bakura's. Of course, he then drove them back to the Turtle Game Shop. After leaving them there, he decided to check in across the street before doing anything else. It was no longer raining, but the sky was deeply overcast with purple, gray, and actual black clouds. More rain would definitely come.

He frowned as he parked the car and got out. There was a definite feeling that he was being watched, but no one was visible. Still, the feeling was not going away.

"Who's here?" he demanded.

The eerie laugh from around the corner was unpleasantly familiar. He ran to the edge of the building and looked around it with a start. Seeing no one did not ease his concerns in the least.

"Duke?"

He started and turned. David had come outside and was watching him in confused concern. Sighing, he walked back to his friend. "I thought I heard someone," he said. "It's impossible, and yet . . . I know what I heard. . . ."

"After everything we've gone through, it's impossible?" David blinked. "Who was it?"

"One of the Big Five," Duke muttered. "Nesbitt, the one Tristan, Serenity, and I dueled. I could never forget his voice."

David's eyes widened. "You didn't know what happened to any of them," he said. "Maybe it could be him."

"It doesn't make sense!" Duke protested. "Maybe I just have him on my mind because of that stupid article in the paper today."

"Is that really what you think?" David asked. They reached the doors and were admitted entry.

"No," Duke grumbled. "But if they're back . . . what kind of chaos are we all going to go through now?"

David looked to his friend in concern. It wasn't often that he heard actual fear in Duke's voice or saw it in his eyes, but he did now. Duke's experiences in Noa's virtual reality world had deeply affected him, maybe more than he even consciously knew. That, plus everything else that had happened to them over the last years. They were both still shaken by the catastrophe of the drug smuggling ring that they had tried to stop, which had resulted in David's death until Duke had found a way to reverse it. Duke was desperately afraid for David now, and Serenity as well.

"Whatever it is, we'll face it and we'll take care of them," David promised. "They won't beat us, Duke."

Duke looked away. "You've said that before," he mumbled. "And these guys hate anyone who keeps them down. Nesbitt probably hates me, for instance, and Serenity. If I really heard him . . . if they're all possibly back . . . we're all in extreme danger."

David didn't know what to say. It was true that he had tried to encourage Duke before, and sometimes it hadn't worked out as planned. But he wasn't about to give in and feel beat by the Big Five, or by whoever they were going to go up against.

"So far, it really has been true that we haven't been beaten," he said at last. "Even when everything looked hopeless, you still didn't give up. Duke, you found a way to bring me back from the dead! I can't think of anyone else who would have been so stubborn and determined not to just give in and accept what was!"

"And I always thought I was the most realistic of Yugi's friends," Duke said with a weak smirk. "That sure proved I wasn't." He sobered. "But David, that's exactly my point! You were saved once. If something else goes wrong . . . how can I believe you will be again? Or Serenity?" His voice lowered.

"Duke . . ." David hesitated, then laid his hands on Duke's shoulders. "If it's not our time to go, things will work out. That was the message we were given when that tomb collapsed. I have to believe in that or I'll go crazy."

Duke slowly nodded. "I want to," he said. "I thought I did. But now, thinking about what might happen if someone comes back who has a grudge against me and Serenity and almost everyone else . . ." He shook his head. "It's hard to keep hold of an idea like that."

"And that's when you need it the most," David said quietly.

Duke knew he was right. "You've always kept me grounded," he said.

"I've always tried, at least," David quipped. "You're not easy to contain."

"I'm serious!" Duke shot back. "David, you've always been there for me. I'll never forget that."

"And I always will be," David insisted. "Why don't you tell me what you know about the Big Five? If we're prepared, maybe we can fight them off better."

Duke sighed and leaned backwards against the counter. "Well, from what I was told later, these guys were always seriously messed up. They formed that alliance with Pegasus to take over KaibaCorp, and they didn't have any qualms about kidnapping Mokuba or Seto Kaiba. Unlike Pegasus, they didn't have a magical item corrupting them or the loss of a loved one driving them nuts. They wanted Pegasus to keep Seto Kaiba prisoner until the transaction was complete."

David gave a low whistle. "You're right. These are not nice guys."

"Then they trapped Kaiba in his own virtual reality game, and went in after him to control their Five-Headed Dragon. When they got trapped instead, they wandered around until they found Noa. And then I told you about most of that." Duke stared off into the distance. "I'm willing to admit that maybe being trapped in virtual reality so long did make them a little crazy. Their plan was insane! Trap us in there and then escape in our bodies. . . . And they didn't care about using any of us to that end, even those of us who had nothing to do with them being trapped in the virtual reality world in the first place."

David shook his head. "I really don't like the thought of you tangling with those guys."

Duke snorted. "Neither do I. But I like the thought of them coming after you or Serenity even less. Nesbitt's probably especially ticked off at Serenity, since she'd never even dueled and she managed to beat him." He pushed away from the counter and hurried over to the phone. "I'd better call her right now and make sure she's safe."

David watched as Duke quickly dialed the number. Duke always tried to present the image of a smooth-talking guy who was completely cool under pressure. Only David, Serenity, and their friend in Los Angeles had ever seen the vulnerable side of the teenage businessman. David was seeing it again right now, in how Duke's hand trembled. He was downright fearful for his loved ones' safety, and after what he had told David, his store manager couldn't blame him in the least.

xxxx

Patience hadn't been one of the Big Five's strong suits in a long time. While the Kaiba brothers and Marik continued to test the augmented reality game, most of them wandered, visiting their other old enemies and continuing to plot for their scheme. As night dragged on and the group was still examining the game, the cruel businessmen were just about to lose whatever patience they had left.

"This is ridiculous already!" Lector fumed. "They probably really will be here all night."

"We should make our move," Nesbitt agreed.

"A lot could go wrong if we act now," Crump worried. "We should wait until they're gone."

"But if they're here all night, they won't go and the crowds will come," Johnson pointed out.

Gansley frowned, contemplating the problem. "As I see it, we have two choices," he said. "Wait for them to leave or move in now and knock them unconscious so we can take control."

"It's risky when something might go wrong and Mr. Kaiba could act without warning if we try to ambush him," Johnson said. "He could remotely disable the game and then we'd probably be stranded inside it."

"We should wait a little longer and see if they'll go," Crump said. "They must be close to the last level by now. How about we review what we know about these new people?"

"Go ahead," Gansley nodded.

"But we want really important facts, Crump," Lector interjected. "Not just how often they eat pizza or leave the lights on!"

"Then try this on for size," Crump retorted. "This guy claiming to be from ancient Egypt is three thousand years old, has a mystical item that grants him a mortal form, and can switch back and forth between two radically different physical appearances. He's also highly protective of the white-haired boy who's a friend of Yugi's."

"We'll have to watch out for him," Johnson said.

"The Pharaoh Atem also has a mystical item," Crump continued. "And since this is augmented reality and not virtual reality, both their items will probably work even after we trap the city of Domino inside Mr. Kaiba's game."

"We can depend on that," Gansley said.

"The boy, Ryou Bakura, is normally quiet and gentle, but he can become fierce if his loved ones are threatened," Crump said. "Then there's this boy, Marik Ishtar—formerly the leader of the Rare Hunters criminal organization, but now reformed and a staple of Yugi's group. He has two older siblings, a sister and a brother, and they are all devoted to each other. If one is hurt, the other two will risk everything to help."

"They will likely be problematic as well," Gansley mused. "But no matter. We will crush everyone who stands in the way of our claiming KaibaCorp as ours! As soon as these three leave, we will commandeer the game and spread its effect throughout the city, instead of merely keeping it here at Kaiba Land. Seto Kaiba wants Duel Monsters to be real, eh? He may change his mind after this!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Atem was the one standing at the counter, idly toying with the cards in his deck, when Yugi came downstairs and found him later that evening.

"Hey," he greeted. "What's going on?"

Atem continued gazing off at the door. "I'm just thinking," he said. "That conversation with the Thief King made me ponder on the oddity of remembering living in two time periods. Now I recall everything that happened in ancient Egypt in addition to my knowledge of the present day."

Yugi leaned on the counter too. "Do you miss ancient Egypt?"

Atem looked thoughtful. "That's a hard question to answer. In some ways I miss it a little bit, but more the people than the place. It seems so long ago. Domino City is my home now. And honestly, the present has many advantages over the past."

"I can't disagree with that," Yugi smiled and chuckled.

"It was easy to get used to the present when that was all I really remembered," Atem said. "And yet, even after regaining all of my memories, I still feel more comfortable here. Of course, that's mostly because I became so close to you and the others, but I also just prefer the technology and fashion of the present." He paused. "In the afterlife, it was mostly tailored to what the others of that era were comfortable with. I felt somewhat out of place."

"So . . ." Yugi looked down. "When you do have to go back—which had better not be for a long time!—what kind of afterlife will you have then?"

"They told me I would be allowed to be with whomever I wanted to be with," Atem said. "You and the others, or my friends and family from ancient Egypt. Or everyone. They said I would be able to travel back and forth visiting all of my loved ones. Had I stayed in the afterlife now, there wouldn't have been anyone in the more modern part that I knew. And yes, that had better not be the case for many years to come!"

Yugi smiled. "It's nice to know that we'll all be able to be together after death, though." He hesitated now. "Actually . . . what Joey was wondering about Yami Bakura . . . I've kind of been wondering about us, too. Um . . . were you married, Atem?"

Atem looked to him in surprise. "Yes, I was," he said. "After my death, she married my successor."

"You mean, Seto Kaiba's ancestor?" Yugi blinked.

"Yes," Atem said, amused by Yugi's expression. Sobering, he said, "She was pregnant with our child when I sacrificed myself to seal Zorc away. I never met him . . . until I crossed into the afterlife."

"I'm glad you finally got to meet him," Yugi smiled.

"So am I," Atem said. "He grew up well. But naturally, I was mainly a legend to him. Seto was the one who raised him as a father would and the one whom he really saw as his father."

Yugi hesitated. "And . . . your wife?"

"She was very happy to see me, of course," Atem said. "But not in a romantic sense. We really hadn't had much time together, and she grew so close to Seto during all their time together, both on Earth and in the afterlife." He shook his head. "It was nothing I hadn't really expected, once my memories were restored."

"Still . . ." Yugi looked down, biting his lip. "It must have been kind of hard, realizing they'd moved on without you. . . ."

"What else could they do?" Atem quietly asked. "It's alright, Yugi. It's no different than my becoming closer to all of you than I am to my family and friends from ancient times."

"Yeah, I guess. . . ." Yugi didn't want to push it, but he still felt sad for his friend. He fell silent for a moment. "You know, in the Memory World it seemed like everything was moving so fast. It was like you were only Pharaoh for a few days."

"Well, I _was_ a forgotten Pharaoh in history for more reasons than one," Atem said. "Although I had quite a few adventures as prince before that."

"That's sad, though, that you were forgotten," Yugi frowned. "You protected all of Egypt! Probably the whole world!"

"It needed to be that way," Atem said. "Since my name was the seal on Zorc, no one could speak it."

"I know," Yugi sighed. Brightening, he said, "But that's all over now! You have your rightful place in history."

"Yes," Atem mused. "And it's going to be a little odd reading about myself in future history books."

Yugi laughed. But the sight of the newspaper on the counter sobered him again. "I wish we could have got hold of Kaiba," he said. "Not that he would've wanted to talk about that article in there, but it would have been nice to let him know we knew it wasn't true that he deliberately trapped the Big Five in his virtual reality world."

"Kaiba is apparently readying his new augmented reality game for the public," Atem said, "and didn't want to be disturbed."

"Yeah, that's what Roland said when we dropped by," Yugi acknowledged. "And Mokuba and Marik are with him. I hope everything will go okay. . . ."

"Do you think it won't?" Atem asked.

"Well . . ." Yugi looked down. "I don't know. It could just be paranoia, but I've had a funny feeling ever since reading that article. At one point it even felt like someone was watching me. That only lasted a minute, but what was really creepy was that it felt . . . familiar, like it was someone I knew. It felt like Gansley of the Big Five."

"That is disturbing," Atem frowned. "It could be nothing, but on the other hand, we don't know what happened to them."

"And with Kaiba debuting new technology, they might try to get into the act if they're still around," Yugi worried. "We could all be in serious trouble."

"If the Big Five are around, we certainly will be," Atem proclaimed.

xxxx

It was indeed very late at night when Seto and company finished their journey through the final stage of the augmented reality game. The simulation ended and the room returned to its bare state.

"And that's a wrap!" Mokuba grinned, pumping the air.

Marik looked around in amazement. It had been so easy to forget that they had been in the same space all that time. "Incredible," he breathed, shaking his head. "I'm sure this game will go far. There's never been anything like it!"

"I know," Seto smiled, clearly pleased. He headed for the door. "Tomorrow we'll open the game to the public."

"Yeah!" Mokuba cheered as he followed.

It was after they had all left that the computer blinked, beeped, and came online again. The Big Five's laughter filled the room as Nesbitt operated the system and reprogrammed it for their benefit.

"Domino City is going to have an unpleasant surprise tomorrow morning," Gansley crowed. "And no one moreso than Seto Kaiba!"

xxxx

Ishizu had experienced many strange and unusual mornings in her short life. But with everything back to normal, she hadn't thought this morning would be one of them. A strange shriek from some type of animal sent her flying upright in bed. "What on Earth?!"

She got up and hurried to the window. The sight of a giant penguin with a sword looking in at her was enough to make her fall back in shock. That, and the fact that the world outside her window looked like Antarctica, complete with snow, ice, and glaciers.

"Ishizu?"

She turned. Rishid was standing in the doorway, looking bewildered.

"Rishid, something is clearly wrong," she exclaimed.

Rishid gawked at the sight. "This is . . . not possible," he gasped.

"We need to let the Pharaoh know," Ishizu decided, rushing to the hall phone.

xxxx

Yami Bakura abhorred getting woke up. Bakura knew he abhorred it. So when the boy suddenly flew into their room, calling for him in a panic, his first instinct was to snarl. But as he rose up, his hair wild and his eyes bloodshot, the sheer alarm on Bakura's face made him stop and rethink his reaction. "What is it?" he growled instead.

"Yami, I don't know how to explain it!" Bakura cried. "Outside the window; it's not Domino City at all!"

"What?" Yami Bakura snorted.

"Just look!" Bakura pulled the curtains back, revealing a huge tree branch draped with Spanish moss right outside.

That got the thief's attention. He stumbled up, stiff from sleeping in odd positions, and half-limped to the window. Outside in the yard, it looked like a bayou. Mossy trees mostly kept the yard in shadow, while a river ran through the middle of what had been grass and strange birds called far and near. He rocked back, staring in disbelief.

"Yami, what on Earth could be causing this?!" Bakura yelped.

"Obviously nothing good," Yami Bakura growled. "Where's your father?"

"I think he flew to Rome," Bakura sighed. "At least, he left a note downstairs saying that was his plan."

"Well, nevermind him." Yami Bakura stormed toward the door. "Let's go outside and see how far this madness stretches."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Bakura gulped as he followed.

"No, but how else are we going to learn anything?!" Yami Bakura countered.

Bakura couldn't argue with that logic.

Downstairs, Yami Bakura threw open the front door and stayed in the doorway. The Infinity Ring glowed and blinked around his neck. "Ring, shed some light on this mystery," he commanded. "Why does our street look like New Orleans?"

After another moment of blinking and glowing, the Ring projected a beam of light in front of them. Within it, ones and zeros typed themselves out over and over in various combinations.

"What is this gibberish?!" Yami Bakura boomed. "I can't read that!"

Bakura stared at it. "It . . . looks like binary code," he realized. "That has to do with computers. . . ."

"So this mess has something to do with computers?" Yami Bakura shot back.

An Alligator's Sword wandered down the street, glanced at them, and kept going.

"Oh my," Bakura blinked. "That was a Duel Monster. Yami, you don't suppose this is anything like when that horrible Yami Marik took over Seto Kaiba's augmented reality game and changed it so we were all trapped in it like a living nightmare?"

". . . Hmm." Yami Bakura frowned. "This could be one of his pranks. Kaiba was just about to put his invention on the market. Perhaps something went wrong."

"Then we need to let him know!" Bakura declared.

"That's one telephone call that won't be pleasant for either party," Yami Bakura grunted.

xxxx

As it turned out, Seto's phone had been ringing off the hook, both at home and at the office. At home, Velma had been trying to ward off all calls in order to let Seto get some sleep. It had worked for a while, but now, as she tried to talk into two different phones in Seto's home office, Mokuba sleepily wandered into the room.

"What's going on, Velma?" he mumbled.

The maid jumped a mile. "Oh! Mokuba!" She gripped both receivers as she half-turned to face him. "Well . . . I'm not sure exactly . . ."

"What the heck's going on outside?!" Mokuba yelped, cutting her off. He ran over to the window, tightly snatching the sill as he gawked at the ocean kingdom in the yard.

"I was hoping you and your brother wouldn't find out!" Velma wailed. "At least until I could try to figure out a solution. . . ."

"What solution?!" Mokuba retorted. "How did this happen?!" A new thought came to him and he spun around again. "This is Seto's augmented reality technology, isn't it?!"

"Well . . . that's what everyone's saying . . ." Velma said helplessly. "They think it's some kinda publicity stunt your brother came up with to promote _Duel Monster Days_."

"That's crazy!" Mokuba cried. "Seto wouldn't do something like this! We've got enough bad publicity as it is!" He stormed to the phones. "I bet one of Seto's enemies is doing this just to make him look bad! Give me the phones, Velma. I'll straighten this out!"

Feeling overwhelmed, Velma blankly handed over both receivers. "I wonder what happens if you go outside," she said.

"Nothing should happen, unless that Yami Marik creep's made everything real again!" Mokuba said. He started as someone yelled over the phone. "Oh. Hello? . . . No, this is Mokuba Kaiba, vice-president of KaibaCorp! Whatever you wanna ask my brother, you can ask me!"

Velma just slumped back and watched as a Flying Fish swam past the window. "This is a nightmare," she moaned. "A real and true, honest-to-goodness nightmare!"

And she hated to think what Seto was going to say about it.

xxxx

Seto happened to be upstairs, asleep in bed. When he heard a tapping on the window through his slumber, his first instinct was to roll over and put the pillow over his head. But when an all-too-familiar and unwelcome voice came to him next, he started awake.

"Rise and shine, Seto Kaiba, and face your doom."

He jumped a mile, throwing the pillow to the mattress as he looked to the window with daggers in his eyes. "Just what is the meaning of this?!"

He went completely pale at the sight of Gansley standing outside on his balcony. "Why, the meaning is a second chance for revenge, Mr. Kaiba," the old man sneered. "You see, we've all teamed up to help you celebrate the release of your first augmented reality game, by blanketing Domino City in the world of said game. After Nesbitt made a few critical modifications, of course."

Seto snarled. "Haven't you got it through your heads yet that you're never going to win and take KaibaCorp away from me?! You're not even solid . . ." But he trailed off as the realization hit him. "Or . . . are you?" He stared at the leader of the Big Five.

Gansley gave him a nasty grin. "Yes, Mr. Kaiba, you're right. We're using your game to give us solid bodies. As long as Domino City is covered in the technology powering your game, we can move freely throughout the city limits."

"Then I'll just have to put an end to your power," Seto snapped. He reached for a remote controller by the edge of his bed.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you, Mr. Kaiba," Gansley taunted.

"And why not?" Seto demanded. "I can shut down your game with one flick of this button!"

"But then you'll be erasing your game, thanks to Nesbitt's modifications," Gansley smiled, "and we're all quite sure you don't want to do that."

Seto didn't let the remote control go. "I have other copies," he said coldly.

"True, but you have no way of knowing that we haven't also infected your entire system," Gansley said. "The moment you try to boot up one of those copies, you may receive a very nasty surprise in the form of a computer virus."

"Taking a page from Siegfried von Schroeder, are we?" Seto glowered. "Look, even if I don't erase the game, you don't have any hope of taking over KaibaCorp."

"Don't we?" Gansley smirked. "All we have to do is defeat you and anyone else who tries to stop us. With no one left to rule KaibaCorp, we'll be free to move right in."

Seto snarled. "You didn't have any luck defeating us before. What makes you think you will now?"

"Our failures have at least served the purpose of making us think harder about what we can do to succeed the next time," Gansley said. "Perhaps if you can beat our new and improved version of your game, you will defeat us at our own game."

Seto was not impressed. "That just sounds like your same old bag of tricks with a thin makeover."

"One thing we haven't changed from your design is that dueling is not the central focus of your game's plot," Gansley said. "The adventure is much broader than that."

"And I suppose you're planning to take down Yugi Muto and all of his cronies while you're at it," Seto guessed.

"The thought was certainly part of our careful plan," Gansley acknowledged. "We want to eliminate everyone who has had a part in our multiple defeats, plus those whom we haven't met who will no doubt join forces with the others to bring us down this time."

"So what happens if we fail your little game?" Seto asked. "Not that any of us will."

"We don't want your bodies this time around, Seto Kaiba," Gansley told him. "This time, we're playing for keeps. If you lose our game, you will die!"

xxxx

Seto was not the only one being greeted by a member of the Big Five and being told the new rules. As Yugi sleepily came downstairs to open up the shop for the day, Joey and Téa practically knocked the door down.

"Yug!" Joey wailed. "Have you seen the city lately?!"

Yugi blinked, looking beyond his friends to the street. Then he was wide awake. "Huh?! What?!"

"It looks like the inside of a computer," Joey nodded. "We know!"

"And it's the Big Five's fault!" Téa wailed. "I woke up with Crump looking in at me and telling me they've taken over the city and we have to beat their new game if we want to stay alive!"

"Same here!" Joey exclaimed. "Only it was Johnson talking to me!"

"Oh no!" Yugi gasped. "I knew I felt like Gansley was watching us yesterday! I was right!"

"And Nesbitt's probably visiting either Tristan or Duke!" Joey said indignantly. "Serenity was included in Johnson's visit to me. He said that they're all lookin' forward to taking us all out, permanently!"

"Well, they'll have to be stopped!" Yugi vowed, his eyes flashing. "We're not going to let them take over the city and kill all of us!"

"Man, these guys are sick," Joey snarled. "Imagine, having all these crazy grudges against teenagers!"

"I'm sure it's about more than just a grudge," Atem said as he appeared from the stairs. "They probably want to rule supreme in Domino City."

Joey started and looked to him. "You're right, Atem. Johnson said that too! They figure they have to get rid of all of us so they can. But so now what?! How do we even go about trying to beat their game?!"

"They're using Kaiba's technology against us," Téa said. "Maybe we should all go talk to Kaiba!"

"Good idea," Yugi agreed. "After we make sure Duke and Tristan are okay, let's do that!"

The phone rang before they could head out the door. Yugi quickly grabbed it up before it could wake Solomon or his mother and ended up in a short conversation with Ishizu. When he hung up, worry was flashing through his eyes all the more.

"What is it now?" Joey frowned.

"It looks like Antarctica where the Ishtars are," Yugi said. "It sounds like each member of the Big Five designed part of the city to look like something they like."

Téa shivered. "Yeah. Crump made sure my house was part of his section! Sicko."

"I wonder what Bakura's dealing with," Yugi mused. "He must be affected too; this seems to be a city-wide thing."

"And I just realized, Kaiba's probably taking the blame for it, just like when Duel Monsters were going wild all over because of the realms opening up!" Téa exclaimed.

Yugi winced. "He probably is. I'll bet a lot of people think this is a deliberate publicity stunt on his part."

"Unfortunately, they'll all know the truth soon enough," Atem said. "We should check on Bakura and Yami Bakura in addition to the others."

"We sure should," Yugi agreed. "Alright! Come on, everyone! Let's go!" He quickly scratched out a note for Solomon and his mother and hurried to the door.

Joey glanced at it. "You could've just written 'We're off to save the world again,'" he quipped. "That's what it's gonna turn into. It always does."

"Yeah, but I don't want to worry Mom too much," Yugi said. "Saying we know what's causing this and we're going off to fix it will worry her enough as it is."

". . . You've got a point, Yug," Joey cringed.

xxxx

Bakura was tense as he and Yami Bakura wandered down the street. Seto had been unreachable at both home and office, with other upset city goers jamming the phone lines. Yugi's line had also been busy. Finally, in irritation, Yami Bakura had just stormed down the porch steps and said they would have to go to one or the other of them in person. Worried, Bakura had of course followed.

The scenery was bizarre. While residential areas often looked like a bayou, more commercial areas were designed to look like various parts of downtown New Orleans. Up on the hill, the cemetery even looked different.

"It looks like all the graves are aboveground," Bakura blinked in surprise. "I know that's how it's done back there because of the water table, but we have higher ground here!"

"I guess they couldn't alter a hill to look like flat ground," Yami Bakura grunted, "but they still wanted to give the appearance of a New Orleans cemetery."

"Who on Earth could be doing this?!" Bakura exclaimed. "If it isn't Yami Marik, I mean."

"I'm sure we'll find out," Yami Bakura growled in disgust. "If it isn't him, it's most likely another of Seto Kaiba's enemies. And now we'll all be dragged into some new mess with him."

Bakura sighed. "Poor Kaiba. It seems that every time he turns around, some vindictive person is trying to use his inventions for evil."

"You could say it serves him right after using so many people to get to the top," Yami Bakura said. "Some of them are turning around and striking back. But then they should have the courtesy to leave the rest of us out of it." He spoke with dripping sarcasm.

"Hate-filled plots always seem to involve everybody sooner or later," Bakura said.

"Mine certainly did," Yami Bakura muttered.

When a tall man stepped into their path without warning, they both jumped. "Good morning," the stranger drawled in a Southern accent.

"Um . . . good morning," Bakura said slowly. "Don't you find the state of the city rather odd today?"

"I find it just like home sweet home," was the reply.

Yami Bakura's eyes narrowed. "I remember you," he said. "You're one of Seto Kaiba's former board of directors."

Both Bakura and the Southerner looked to him in surprise. "That's right," the man said. "My name is Lector."

"How did you know, Yami?" Bakura asked.

"I'll keep my secrets for now." Yami Bakura imagined he would tell Bakura in private later, but he didn't want the Big Five to know anything more about him than they already might. He glowered at Lector. "Exactly what do you plan on doing with us in your new little world?"

"Well, if it wasn't that you're surely planning on stopping us, we really wouldn't care about you at all," Lector said matter-of-factly. "We believe in live and let live."

"As long as it doesn't interfere with you, eh?" Yami Bakura gave him a dark and unimpressed look. "You're right that we will most likely be trying to stop you. Whatever vision you have for the city, I doubt it's anything we will want to participate in."

"We're planning on turning Domino City into the weapons capital of the world!" Lector exclaimed. "Gozaburo Kaiba always had a vision of KaibaCorp as a weapons manufacturer, and we were the best in the business! But then his ungrateful stepson Seto decided to take control of the company and turn it into the manufacturer of silly children's games!"

"Which you quite willingly played to try to overthrow him," Yami Bakura pointed out. "You must have a certain liking for the game, even if only as the means to an end. All five of you understand it quite well . . . even if you have very little success at actually winning." He wasn't about to point out that it had often been the same for him. He was a good player, but Atem and Yami Marik had beat him in the past. Of course, of late he had turned the tables on Yami Marik, at least.

"And Seto Kaiba wasn't ungrateful!" Bakura interjected. "Gozaburo was completely abusive! Seto Kaiba had a right to fight back!"

"Naturally that's the way you'd see it," Lector said. "But no matter. The point is, we're changing KaibaCorp back to what it was years ago, in its glory days."

"And who will run this reformed KaibaCorp?" Yami Bakura asked. "All of you want the position, but you can't all have it."

"We'll run it as a board," Lector insisted. "There won't be one man to be the president."

"Perhaps that's what you think," Yami Bakura said, "but when the time actually comes, do you honestly believe your associates will feel the same way?"

"You're not going to divide and conquer us," Lector snapped. "You just wait! There's going to be all manner of horrors in store for both of you and all of your little friends in our world! And when you lose, you'll all be dead!" With that, he teleported out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Both Bakura and Yami Bakura were left staring at the empty space where Lector had been.

"My word," Bakura gasped.

Yami Bakura just growled. "Let's not waste any time. We have to find the others. At least we know we're going the right direction, even though Domino City's makeover certainly makes it easy to get turned around."

"To say the least," Bakura sighed. "I was so rattled by that man suddenly appearing that I momentarily forgot what you told me about being aware of the Big Five during that virtual reality disaster."

Yami Bakura shrugged. "Understandable, especially since I merely mentioned it in passing. But that's not important. The important thing is beating them at their own game and getting the city back to the way it's supposed to look."

"Yes, but how in the world will we do that?!" Bakura moaned.

He had to dive out of the way as arrows suddenly flew at him from across the street. They stabbed hard into a tree, while the two Bakuras toppled backwards to the sidewalk.

Yami Bakura snarled in further frustration. "I would say, by keeping alert for enemy Duel Monsters."

Bakura pushed himself up, mortified and concerned over having knocked Yami Bakura down with him. "Are you alright, Yami?"

"Fine." Yami Bakura growled and started to rise as well.

Bakura knelt next to him. "If this is anything like Seto Kaiba's game, maybe we have to make friends with Duel Monsters in order to clear the levels," he suggested. "Then they battle with the enemy Duel Monsters we encounter."

"That sounds similar to that Capsule Monsters game, which I also saw through the eyes of my shadow in the Millennium Puzzle," Yami Bakura grunted. "And unfortunately, I don't see any friendly Duel Monsters that . . ." He trailed off at the sound of a chattering doll.

Bakura's eyes widened as Dark Necrofear stepped out from behind a mossy tree. She regarded them both with a deadpan look and then walked over to Yami Bakura, staring him down almost expectantly.

He looked up at her. "Will you help us?"

She turned without a word. In a moment a dark blast burst from her eyes, catching whatever monsters had been hiding and shooting arrows.

"Good show!" Bakura exclaimed in relief. "Well, Yami, it looks like we've found our first friend!"

"One of my favorites at that," Yami Bakura mused, getting to his feet.

"And I think she knew it," Bakura smiled. "Why else would she go directly to you?"

"Don't forget, she's a computer program," Yami Bakura grunted.

"Well, perhaps the Heart of the Cards even works inside a computer," Bakura said.

"Part of me wants to say how completely ridiculous that sounds," Yami Bakura said. ". . . But the other part remembers how sentient the Duel Monsters behaved in Noa's world, especially that little Kuriboh." He started off down the street.

Dark Necrofear looked to Bakura, silently waiting for him to go before she moved. He blinked in surprise and hurried after his friend. "Hey! Wait up!"

Yami Bakura paused, letting Bakura catch up before walking again. Dark Necrofear trailed after them, alert for any trouble.

xxxx

Duke had been tense all night. It had been difficult to fall asleep, even after finding out that Serenity was just fine. He was still worried about hearing Nesbitt's laughter. In his dreams, he saw parts of that duel play out again, over and over, and always the worst parts.

" _You mere mortals could never stand up to me!"_ Nesbitt crowed as Tristan fell into the radioactive pit with a scream. This time, Duke and Serenity both fell with him.

Duke woke up with a start, gasping, and sat up in bed. For a moment he stayed there, staring down at the comforter without really seeing it. Then he fell forward with a groan, his loose hair sweeping in front of his face.

It had certainly been the most taxing duel he had ever played. And after having told Serenity last night about hearing Nesbitt, she very likely might be experiencing nightmares as well.

Tristan had been hopping mad that Duke had told her. But Duke felt she had a right to know. If there was any chance that Nesbitt was coming back, they needed to be prepared. They couldn't be if they didn't know what was coming.

Duke threw back the covers and got up, shuffling to the balcony to look out. Then he went stiff. "What the . . . ?!" Outside, it looked like something out of a science-fiction movie. Giant computer chips and cards were standing up and down the street. A Barrel Dragon rolled down the road, while a Cyber Commander marched at its side.

"Oh brother," Duke exclaimed. "I must still be dreaming!"

"Must you?"

He jumped a mile. That voice was all too familiar. "Nesbitt!" he cried as he spun around.

"Affirmative," the Big Five member intoned. He was standing in the bedroom doorway.

"Hey, how did you get in my apartment?!" Duke snapped. "And what happened to the outside world?!"

"The Big Five now controls everything in Domino City," Nesbitt gloated. "This is my sector of the city. I can go wherever I want."

"Oh, naturally you'd make sure I ended up in your sector," Duke said with dripping sarcasm. "So what do I have to do to get out?"

"I'm sure you have enough intellect to solve that riddle," Nesbitt said.

"Yeah." Duke was disgusted now. "I probably have to beat your crazy game world."

"Technically it's Seto Kaiba's game world," Nesbitt replied. "We just made a few necessary modifications."

"I'm sure," Duke snorted. "And what about Serenity?!"

"The entire city is trapped," Nesbitt said. "That female's fate is no different. I'm looking forward to making the both of you suffer. And if you lose this time, you won't ever be able to be restored." Then he was gone.

"Hey, wait!" Duke yelled. He ran forward, but it was too late; Nesbitt had already vanished. Snarling in frustration and worry, Duke now made a dash for the phone.

Despite the still-early hour, after several rings the phone was answered. "Hello?" Serenity sounded half-asleep, but alright.

Duke tried to relax. "Hey, Serenity," he greeted. "How are you?"

"A lot better now that you've called." He could hear the smile in her voice. And although he hated to bring bad news, he knew he couldn't not warn her of what was happening. This was an occasion where sheltering her could be downright dangerous.

"I wish I was calling for an enjoyable reason," he sighed. "The truth is, I have to warn you, and anyone else who's there with you."

"Oh no!" Serenity gasped. "Duke, Joey left a note! It's here by the phone. He says the Big Five have taken over the city and he's gone off to stop them!"

Duke exhaled in exasperation. "Well, that figures. That's just like Joey, to go running off into something like that." And he must have decided that leaving Serenity behind would be safer for her. Duke doubted that was true.

"Oh Duke, is it true?!" Serenity cried.

"I'm sure it is," Duke said. "About Joey, I mean. I know it's true about the Big Five. I just had a visit from Nesbitt."

"Well, I can't stay behind!" Serenity insisted. "I'm going to help fight them and that's that!"

"You're not going to stay behind," Duke promised. "I'll get David and we'll both come out there."

"Oh good," Serenity smiled. "But Duke, please be careful!"

"I will," Duke assured her. That was something they were all going to have to be, he knew as he hung up. They couldn't risk any screw-ups like last time. Especially since this time there would be no hope if they failed.

xxxx

Seto looked like a storm cloud when he went downstairs. By this point, Velma and Mokuba had both relocated to the living room and were standing around feeling helpless. Outside the picture window, a Legendary Fisherman rode past on his shark.

"Seto . . ." Mokuba swallowed hard. "I know this is bad, but we're gonna fix it!"

"I'm going to fix it," Seto corrected. "The Big Five are behind this, Mokuba. I don't want them getting at you again!"

Mokuba rocked back, too horrified by the news to be upset that Seto was trying to shield him. "What?! But . . . how can it be the Big Five?" he gasped.

"I don't know," Seto growled, "but it is. I just spoke to Gansley upstairs. They're really playing for keeps this time. If any of us lose this time, that's it. We're dead."

"No!" Velma exclaimed.

"Seto . . ." Mokuba looked at his brother, his eyes shining with worry. "That means if you lose, you'll be dead! I don't want to lose you. . . ."

"You won't, Mokuba," Seto insisted. "I won't give those freaks any kind of satisfaction! I'll go out there and beat them at their own game!"

"But . . . if I don't come along, maybe one of them will break in here to kidnap me," Mokuba pointed out.

Seto clenched his teeth. He couldn't deny that was possible.

"Maybe you'd be safer sticking together," Velma ventured.

"Yeah!" Mokuba gave an emphatic nod.

"Either way could be just what they want," Seto said in frustration. "But alright, Mokuba. You'll stay with me."

"Alright!" Mokuba exclaimed in relief.

"But you should eat breakfast before you go out conquering," Velma said.

"I don't need food to give me strength right now," Seto said. "But if I don't eat, Mokuba probably won't either." He headed for the kitchen.

"That's the spirit!" Velma declared. Triumphant, she hurried past Seto and into the kitchen.

xxxx

Yugi and his group were confused as they wandered the streets of Domino. With this part of the city looking like a computer hard drive, it was difficult to know what to do or where to go. Duke's phone was busy, but Tristan's was free, and he was not pleased to hear of what was happening.

"I'll check on Duke," he promised. "I've got a score to settle with these Big Five creeps!"

"So Joey, where's Serenity?" Téa asked. "I'm sure she won't stand for staying behind."

"You're right, Téa," Joey sighed. "But she and Ma were still asleep, so I kind of just scratched out a note and went looking for you guys. Serenity's been in enough danger from those freaks!"

"She'll just come looking for you when she wakes up," Atem frowned. "Or Duke might go and get her."

"Yeah . . ." Joey scowled.

"With the whole city under the Big Five's control, Serenity is probably safer with us," Atem continued.

Joey was not pleased. "I was afraid you were gonna say that. . . ."

"Also, I'm thinking we're going to need to find some Duel Monsters to help us out," Yugi said. "Kaiba's game idea was for humans and Duel Monsters to be able to go adventuring together, right? If the Big Five haven't changed the basic gameplay, we'll need Duel Monsters to win."

"Kinda like in Capsule Monsters, huh, Yug?" Joey's eyes gleamed. "Well, I'm all for that! . . . Just as long as a corrupted Red Eyes Black Dragon doesn't possess me again. . . ."

"It could be a corrupted Blue Eyes White Dragon," Téa smiled.

Joey rolled his eyes. "Oh, you're a real riot. You must've been taking lessons in being obnoxious from Tristan."

"Look out!" Yugi yelped before Téa had a chance to retort.

Everyone looked up, scattering just in time as a Launcher Spider fired its missiles.

". . . Yeah," Joey moaned from the ground, "we need some Duel Monsters of our own."

"But how do we find them in Kaiba's game world?!" Téa exclaimed. "And where will we find one strong enough to beat that thing?!"

"Yugi! Everyone!"

The group looked up with a start. Marik was riding over to them on his motorcycle. A Revival Jam was hopping alongside him.

"Hey, a little help here would be great!" Joey exclaimed. The Launcher Spider was poised to fire again.

The Revival Jam leaped in the way to take the attack. As it reformed, the Launcher Spider beeped and growled in aggravation.

"There should be some other Duel Monsters around here," Marik frowned, getting down from his motorcycle. "And there's magic and trap cards as well, usually hidden on the ground where you can accidentally trip over them. But some are . . . floating in the air, too. . . ." He blinked at a Lucky Iron Axe, which Joey finally spotted and grabbed.

"Alright! Come to Papa!" he crowed.

"Now we just need a monster to equip it to," Atem mused. "Even with the power boost, Revival Jam would still be too weak to attack Launcher Spider."

"But Dark Necrofear wouldn't," came Yami Bakura's voice.

Everyone jumped. The Bakuras were just coming from around the corner, accompanied by said Dark Necrofear. She gave the new group a deadpan look.

Joey stared. "That thing still creeps me out," he quavered.

"Seriously, Joey? This is not the time to insult her," Téa said, rolling her eyes. "We need her help!"

Joey sighed but handed over the Lucky Iron Axe, which Dark Necrofear took with one hand while still balancing her broken doll. "Well, when you're right, you're right. But uh . . . is she already mad?"

"Oh, she will still help you, if I tell her to," Yami Bakura said.

Joey tensed. "You will, won't you?!"

Yami Bakura pretended to think. "Hmm."

"Yami!" Bakura scolded.

Yami Bakura laughed. "Of course I will. I'd never hear the end of it if I didn't." He nodded to Dark Necrofear.

Everyone watched as the eerie Duel Monster lunged at the giant machine, swinging the axe. Soon the Launcher Spider was vanquished and Dark Necrofear walked back to Yami Bakura, awaiting the next command.

"Of course, Yami was just trying to scare you," Bakura said. "He intended all along to help."

Yami Bakura didn't confirm or deny that. He just looked to Yugi and Atem. "So, what's your plan?"

"We're going to see Kaiba," Atem said.

Yugi nodded. "Who better to know how to beat the game?"

"I was with them all through the testing of the game last night," Marik said. "I could guide you. But we should check on Kaiba and Mokuba anyway. I tried several times to call, but I couldn't get through, even on Mokuba's phone." Worry flickered in his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess we should check," Joey said in resignation. "But they're probably fine for now. Even with the Big Five's messed-up rules, they wouldn't wanna off Kaiba right away. They'd wanna make him suffer first."

"Likely true," Yami Bakura conceded.

"Where are Ishizu and Rishid, Marik?" Yugi asked. "I thought you'd probably all be together."

"I convinced Ishizu that she should make sure the Big Five hadn't disturbed anything at the museum, and I asked Rishid to go with her," Marik said. "But I thought one of us should try to find all of you."

"Well, we're sure glad you came along," Yugi smiled. "But why would the Big Five be interested in anything at the museum?"

"We didn't want to take a chance with the information we have there about the Infinity Items," Marik said. "I know the Big Five are going to be trying to find ways to defeat them because of the Pharaoh and Yami Bakura."

"But isn't your information merely a couple of useless stone tablets?" Yami Bakura frowned.

"Who knows. Wouldn't it be ironic if one of the Big Five could deduce something new about them?" Marik sighed.

"It sure would," Téa groaned. "And just our luck."

"Well, let's hope they won't," Yugi said resolutely. "Let's go to Kaiba's!"

Everyone agreed.

xxxx

It was a long and strange walk through Domino City. Along the way, the group ended up in several more battles with enemy Duel Monsters and Joey found a Red Eyes Black Dragon. As with Dark Necrofear gravitating to Yami Bakura, the dragon seemed quite partial to Joey.

"Hey, now we can really cruise in style!" he exclaimed. "Let's take the Red Eyes Express to Kaiba's mansion!"

Téa eyed the dragon in a bit of apprehension as Joey petted its muzzle. "Will we really all fit on his back?" she had to wonder.

"Yeah, I think so," Joey said, and Red Eyes roared in agreement. He took the lead, and everyone else slowly got on after him. "Hey, he's probably the same one I rode when Yami Marik took over Kaiba's game! Maybe he remembers me."

"Well," Atem said, "I'm not about to argue."

"There had better be room for Dark Necrofear as well," Yami Bakura grunted.

There was, and she climbed on behind him, still silent.

"Does she ever talk?" Joey gulped.

"Not likely," Yami Bakura smirked at him. "It's part of her charm that she doesn't."

"It sure makes her creepier," Joey countered. Sighing, he added, "But I guess since she's saved us several times today already, I can't complain."

"No, you can't," said Yami Bakura.

Marik watched them all in curious amusement. "I don't want to leave my motorcycle, so I'll stay on the ground and follow you to Kaiba's," he said. "Revival Jam and I'll be right behind you."

"Suit yourself," Joey said. "Maybe you can leave your bike at Kaiba's and ride around with us then. You'll never have another ride like it!"

"I'm sure," Marik said.

xxxx

Breakfast at the Kaiba mansion that morning was unlike any other. Mokuba stared out the windows in disbelief as fish and other underwater Duel Monster types swam past. "I feel like we're in an aquarium," he gulped.

In spite of his anger at the Big Five, Seto had to admit he was still pleased. "I designed everything to look very realistic. It looks like the Big Five didn't change that aspect of my programming."

"They sure didn't," Mokuba said. "But I'll bet something will be different once we get outside in it!" He frowned. "Hey, I should really call Marik. I got so busy trying to talk to all those reporters and other angry people that I didn't think about it."

"Are you gonna call Yugi Muto and everyone else, Mr. Kaiba?" Velma wondered.

"Why bother?" Seto grunted. "I'm sure the Big Five has spread out to let them know." He got up. "And I've had more than enough of knowing they're commandeering my game for their own sick purposes. I'm leaving now to stop them!"

Mokuba hopped up from the table as well, phone in hand to dial Marik. "Alright! We're gonna bring them down and get _Duel Monster Days_ back to normal! And hey, if we're lucky, maybe this'll actually make people more excited to try the game!"

Seto smiled a bit. That would be nice, and a good piece of irony to throw at the Big Five. But he wouldn't count on it.

As the brothers stepped outside on the porch, they stepped into the sea. But of course, since the water wasn't real, they felt only the sensation of moving water without getting wet or having their breathing supply cut off.

"I never get tired of this," Mokuba grinned.

Seto was quickly distracted. Up ahead, on the other side of the water, a black dragon was flying towards the property. Several passengers were onboard, some enjoying the experience while others clearly were not.

"Hey!" Mokuba cried. "Isn't that a whole bunch of the gang?!"

It certainly looked like it, Seto thought. And as the beast crossed through the barrier and began to swim instead of fly, Joey's yelp of surprise was easily recognizable.

"What the heck?! How high up does this water go?!" Joey craned his neck upward, staring above them at the water and the sea creatures.

"At least we're not getting wet," Téa said. "Even though it feels like real water." She reached out to touch it in surprise.

Atem was tense. "Something isn't right. So far, everything is too easy."

"Easy?!" Joey retorted. "All those fights with Duel Monsters were easy?!"

"No, but I would expect more danger from the Big Five," Atem explained. "They must be trying to lure us into a false sense of security, thinking that things won't get any more deadly than they currently are."

"How right you are, Pharaoh Atem!" boomed Gansley's voice from somewhere unknown. "And now you will deal with the first of many traps meant to liquidate you!"

"Oh no!" Mokuba gasped.

Seto looked around, his eyes flashing. "Coward!" he snarled at Gansley. "Come out and face us!"

Instead, several whirlpools began to swirl through the water. Duel Monsters who were too close quickly became caught in the funnels, their cries of surprise soon fading into the churning water. The whirlpools then swirled closer and joined together, becoming one large menace.

"Are you serious?!" Téa yelped. "Underwater funnel spouts?! I'm sure that wasn't part of Kaiba's original programming!"

"It could be," Joey retorted.

"Don't get too close!" Yugi exclaimed. "Let's turn away!"

"Don't worry," Joey bragged. "Red Eyes is strong enough not to get sucked in, aren't you, big guy?"

Red Eyes roared, fighting to turn away from the furious water. But it was too strong; within moments, he and all of his passengers were being tugged toward the vicious underwater tornado.

"It would be really great if Mako Tsunami was here right now," Téa whimpered, clutching at Atem for dear life. Atem in turn was gripping Yugi, who had grabbed Joey.

"Yami!" Bakura cried in horror.

"I have you," Yami Bakura growled through gritted teeth. No matter what happened, he vowed, he was not going to let go of this boy!

"Pharaoh! Yugi!" Seto yelled from somewhere on the ground.

"Guys!" Mokuba was panicked.

The tornado grew stronger still. As Red Eyes and all his passengers were swept up, the Kaiba brothers were also pulled into it, with cries of alarm and shock.

The only one who wasn't was Marik, who had fallen behind the powerful dragon and was only now catching up. He ground to a halt just outside the onset of the underwater section, his eyes wide in his horror as he saw the scene. "No!" he screamed. He was helpless to do a thing. All that he and Revival Jam could do was watch as the whirlpool pulled everyone into it.

"There's nothing we can even do," he said, half to himself and half to Revival Jam. "And this is most certainly real enough. It's not part of Kaiba's original program! They're all going to be hurt!"

Revival Jam wobbled in agreement.

The underwater tornado moved deeper into the sea, still carrying everyone within it. In determination, Marik revved the motorcycle's engine and sped on into the fake water, while Revival Jam swam next to him. They would follow the whirlpool until it let everyone go. And then . . . well . . . he had to hope the Big Five hadn't planned on killing everyone this soon.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Tristan parked his motorcycle in front of Duke's apartment building and got out with a scowl. He had traveled into Nesbitt's section of the city, apparently; he felt like he was inside a computer. And by now, Duke might not even be here. As soon as he woke up and saw this mess, Tristan was sure he would run off to get Serenity.

Of course, he had a perfect right to, both because he would be worried about Serenity's well-being and because Serenity had chosen to get closer to him. The latter still frustrated Tristan. But at least he had to admit that Duke hadn't done anything out of line and Serenity seemed to be happy with him. Tristan still hoped that he would have a chance with Serenity, since they were all still young, yet he knew that she saw him as a brother figure and not as a possible romantic interest.

Tristan jogged up the walkway and through the door. It was one of the nicest apartment buildings in Domino City. Duke could certainly afford it. He could also afford a house, for that matter, but for reasons none of them knew, he preferred his apartment.

Well, Tristan amended, Serenity might know. She would never tell, if Duke didn't want her to. And Duke's store manager David probably knew too. Duke was closer to him than he had ever been to Yugi or any of the rest of them.

Then again, that was probably at least partially their own fault. As much as Tristan had hated David's chewing them out, he had to admit that the guy had a point about how they had never invited Duke along on their adventures. Maybe Duke really hadn't ever really felt welcome. Certainly he had never felt like opening up about himself.

Tristan reached the third floor and Duke's door. "Duke!" he called. He was just moving to knock when the door flew open.

"Oh. Hey, Tristan," Duke greeted. "I guess you saw what's outside."

"Yeah, and I know why it's there," Tristan said.

"Then you also know that Serenity shouldn't be left alone." Duke stepped into the corridor and pulled the door shut after him. "I was just going to get her and David."

"Really? And here I thought you didn't think Serenity should be sheltered," Tristan said, even though he had figured himself that Duke would go get her.

"There's a difference between not sheltering and just being stupid," Duke retorted. "Leaving her unprotected while some old creepy guy with a grudge against her is at large is stupid."

"Well, at least we agree on something," Tristan shot back. He followed Duke down the stairs and out to the parking lot.

Duke dug his keys out of his pocket as he reached his turquoise convertible. "Are you coming with me?" he asked in some surprise.

"I think I'll go get my motorcycle and park it in your spot while we're gone," Tristan said. "It'd make more sense to just take one vehicle."

"Are you sure that's your only reason, and not that you just want to be on hand to keep things from getting too lovey-dovey?" Duke smirked, flipping his hair.

Tristan flamed red. "Of course that's not it!" he snapped.

"I really don't think we'd be snuggling up under the circumstances anyway," Duke said. "Not to mention that David will be along too."

"Oh. Yeah." Tristan backed off, frowning more. He had to admit he wasn't crazy about sharing a car with David. "Well, maybe I'll just follow behind you on my bike after all."

"Suit yourself." Duke hopped in the car and revved the engine.

He was just pulling out of the lot and starting off down the street when he caught sight of Tristan in his rear-view mirror, trailing behind him on his red motorcycle. Duke couldn't say he was surprised that Tristan had been serious, but he still shook his head anyway.

They had always had a certain amount of problems getting along, especially after Serenity had entered the picture. And after Serenity had chosen him, it had of course escalated. Duke also wasn't sure that Tristan had forgiven him for faking his own death to escape murderers or reversing time to bring David back from a real death. They hadn't really had any kind of heart-to-heart talks after those problems had happened. Not that they had ever had heart-to-heart talks to begin with. Things just cooled down between them and then Duke had to feel and hope that Tristan was feeling better towards him. But the Serenity problem was always there.

Duke had been thrilled and even amazed and awed when Serenity had chosen him. Despite whatever air of confidence he had passed himself off as having, he had known that Serenity had seemed more comfortable around Tristan and he hadn't expected her to choose otherwise. But Serenity had decided to be daring instead of choosing to continue being sheltered. Duke would always be thankful that he had been given a chance. But he wondered if Tristan would ever forgive him for it.

He hoped Tristan would be more willing to trust him now than he had been in Noa's world. Had Tristan not thought the worst of Duke, he might not have lost the duel against Nesbitt. And now, according to Nesbitt, the stakes for this game would be even higher. They couldn't risk actual death. They would have to work together, if that was what it took.

Nesbitt was probably watching them right now, Duke grimly realized. And if he had any thought that he could successfully turn them against each other, he would probably try to do it. The Big Five had been desperate enough before. Now that they had even bigger plans, they would be even less likely to allow screw-ups. Duke didn't want to know all that their enemies were capable of, but he knew that whether they liked it or not, they were going to find out.

xxxx

Ishizu was worried as she and Rishid entered the museum and made their way to the exhibit depicting what definitely seemed to be the Infinity Ring in use. It hadn't been disturbed that they could tell, but Ishizu was not willing to leave it unguarded for long.

Rishid frowned at it. "Do you suppose there really could be some sort of clue within this image that we have simply not uncovered yet?" he mused.

"It's certainly possible," Ishizu said. "There may be some hint to the Ring's true power or what has to be done to bring it out. That information could be invaluable!"

"The Thief King and Ryou Bakura have been over and over it without success," Rishid said. "Not even the Pharaoh could find a clue hidden within it."

"But that doesn't mean there isn't one." Ishizu walked away from the tablet and over to the window. "And I'm worried about Marik, Rishid. We haven't heard from him for a while. And it must be dangerous out there!"

"I know." Rishid came over to look too. "I didn't want to let him go off alone, but I didn't want you to be alone either." He averted his gaze. "I have always felt terrible that we left you alone those years ago when Marik started his quest to find the Pharaoh."

"You had to stay with him, Rishid," Ishizu told him. "You were the only one who could control Yami Marik. And even if it hadn't been for that, Marik was only 11. He couldn't have been left on his own. I, on the other hand, was 15, quite an adult by ancient Egyptian standards. And at least there were others in the city. Had I truly been the only other person there, I can't believe you would have left me."

"Yes, that is all true," Rishid agreed.

"And it's all over now." Ishizu smiled at him, laying a hand on his arm. "So let's keep it in the past and focus on the present."

Rishid nodded. "I will try calling Marik again."

xxxx

As it was, Marik heard his phone ringing, but he could hardly stop to answer it. He was still barreling after the rampaging underwater tornado, frantic to keep it in sight. Then, just as suddenly, it went out and its victims flew in all directions before floating down through the fake water to hit the ground.

Marik winced, bringing his motorcycle to a halt. Almost everyone had been pulled away from each other during the whirling, but somehow Atem and Yami Bakura had managed to hold on to their descendants. Everyone looked dazed, if not outright unconscious, and Marik wasted no time in hurrying to the nearest victims. "Are you alright?!" he cried, bending down to touch their shoulders.

Bakura groaned. "Oh. . . . I'm not sure. . . ." He started, snapping fully awake. "Yami?!" He looked down at the thief. Both arms were firmly around Bakura's waist, but Yami Bakura was not conscious. He growled low, but otherwise didn't answer.

Marik touched his neck. "He should be alright," he said.

"He took the worst of the impact to protect me," Bakura said softly. "Oh Yami. . . ." He tried to pry the other's hands loose, to no avail.

Marik had to smile a bit. "He won't let go until he wakes up and sees you're safe."

"Yes, but . . . I can't help him like this . . ." Bakura exclaimed.

Nearby, Joey groaned and sat up, rubbing his head. "So, did anyone get the number of that twister?"

"Ugh . . . it was all I could do to try to keep hold of Atem, and I still failed," Téa sighed.

Atem slowly sat up, releasing Yugi from his grasp. "Yugi, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so," Yugi smiled. "Especially since you refused to let go. Are you okay?"

"I'm just fine," Atem assured him.

Marik, meanwhile, had finally spotted the Kaiba brothers and was rushing over to them. "Mokuba! Kaiba!"

Underneath Seto's protective arm, Mokuba stirred. "Huh? . . . Seto!" He turned to face his brother. "Seto, are you okay?! Please answer me!"

Seto groaned, slowly opening his eyes. "Mokuba . . . ?" He snapped awake. "Are you hurt?!"

"No, I don't think so. . . ." Mokuba knelt on the ground. "But wow, that was just crazy!"

By now Yami Bakura was reviving as well. He stirred, blinking, and loosened his grip on Bakura when it processed that they were no longer spinning through the air. "Are you alright?" he gruffly asked.

Bakura turned to face him in relief. "Oh yes, I'm fine!" he smiled. "I'm so glad you are, Yami."

Joey looked around. "So where's Red Eyes?!"

Yami Bakura started, frowning. "And Dark Necrofear?"

Red Eyes soon roared from his position on the ground and got up, walking over to Joey. Dark Necrofear picked up her doll and the axe and half-limped over to Yami Bakura.

"You're hurt," Yami Bakura noted. He hadn't thought a computer program could be hurt.

"Oh dear." Bakura bit his lip. "What can we do?"

"Look for any magic or trap cards that can restore lifepoints," Marik suggested. "In this world, they work on Duel Monsters."

"Well, that's awesome," Téa said.

"Of course, the downside is that they don't work on real injuries to the human players," Seto flatly pointed out, "since there weren't supposed to be real injuries. But yes, they'll help Duel Monsters that are hurt. And in the normal game, they restore the human players' lifepoints."

"Unfortunately, this is no longer a normal game," Yami Bakura said sardonically. "So it might not work. And even if it does, I'm sure the Big Five will create many real disasters that could kill us. They won't stop at simple in-game misadventures that won't really injure anyone."

Bakura nodded. "That tornado certainly could have been fatal!"

"Wait, so we have lifepoints?" Téa gulped. "And the Big Five are playing for keeps. . . ."

Yugi nodded. "So when someone's lifepoints drop to zero . . ." He looked down. "I guess that's really it. . . ."

"No way!" Téa moaned.

Everyone fell silent, shaken by this deduction.

"Well, nevermind that!" Joey boomed at last. "No matter what the crazy rules are in this place, we're gonna beat them!"

"Yes," Atem said quietly. "We must."

"Here's some Red Medicine," Mokuba called after a moment. He hurried over with a pitcher, which Dark Necrofear took and drank. "Is that better?"

She looked at him and nodded.

"Awesome!" Mokuba grinned. "So we're all okay. Now what?"

"Now I'd better call my siblings," Marik said as he stared at his phone. "They've been calling me and I couldn't stop to answer."

Seto got up. "I'm going to find the Big Five and put a stop to their twisted plan," he snarled. "They are not going to ruin this game that I've worked so hard to create!"

"But Kaiba, how do you plan to stop it?" Atem frowned.

"My guess is that each one of them has set himself up as a boss for their section of the city," Seto said. "We go through the area, fight the Duel Monsters, and find the boss. Then we defeat him and move on."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Joey said.

"Somehow I've got the feeling that it's not going to be as simple as Kaiba makes it sound," Téa groaned.

xxxx

The Royal Hotel was one of the fanciest hotels in Domino. With enough levels to turn it into a skyscraper, it was all too easy for someone who wasn't sure she wanted to be found to duck into a room and stay quite out of sight from all except the staff. This particular someone had arrived late the previous night, shortly before the Big Five had started their tampering of Seto's game, and was just now waking up to the bizarre world around her. She crossed to the balcony doors, brushing the curtain aside just enough to see the world of Nesbitt's section of the city. Off in the distance, Crump's ice section was visible.

"What . . . ?!" she gasped. But in a moment she shook her head. "I guess this is just par for the course in Domino City. Of course, Joey's going to be right in the thick of this. Valon too, maybe."

She turned away, letting the curtain fall back into place. She would get dressed and go downstairs to find out what was going on. Then, she supposed, she would have to take the plunge and get involved. She had apparently come in right in the middle of a new disaster, and this time she didn't want to abandon Joey or any of the others. But . . . would her arrival on the scene only make an already stressful scene even worse?

She stopped walking in the middle of the room and quietly clenched her fists. She had been running for so long, feeling that she had to become a better Duelist before returning to the people she had betrayed. Some of those friends had talked to her when their paths had crossed in Germany, telling her how ridiculous that was and that no one cared how good a Duelist she was; they just wanted her back. They had almost convinced her. But then her insecurities and fears and guilt took over again and she had run away once more. She had just kept running . . . until at last a chance meeting with someone in Los Angeles had struck her with a vital epiphany. Everyone had been right; it was foolish to think that becoming a better Duelist would take away what she had done or somehow make her more worthy to come back. That was so shallow. What did it matter?

And so she had come back. She had rehearsed over and over what she would say and how she would respond to different possible reactions. Joey, she was sure, would really be overjoyed and just welcome her back, not caring about the past and just wanting to move forward. Yugi would probably be friendly and welcoming. Téa and Tristan she wasn't sure of.

Joey's reaction was the most important, she supposed. He was the one she had hurt so deeply. But if she wasn't welcomed by all of them—and she was sure she wouldn't be—how would she feel like staying around? Her self-esteem was still very low. On the other hand, if Joey wanted her to stay, it would be cruel to leave again. Yet, part of her wondered how he could really want that. How could anyone want her back after what she did? Even though she had been under the influence of an evil force and her mind hadn't been clear, it wasn't an excuse. It didn't change what she had done.

She gave a heavy sigh. Once she had been very confident, but maybe it had mostly been a mask for her loneliness. Now that her confidence was largely stripped away, she had very little other than her loneliness . . . and her guilt and self-hatred.

Still, she would put that aside for now. With the city looking the way it did today, obviously something was very weird and very wrong. She would focus on helping solve this mess, from the shadows if need be. And when it was over, she would apologize to Joey and to everyone else she had hurt. _Sorry_ was just a word and it was never good enough, but if she sincerely meant it, and went about showing that she meant it, well, it would be a start.

"Look out, whoever's doing this," she vowed as she opened the closet to get dressed for the day. "Mai Valentine is back in town, and she's not going to stand for this."

xxxx

When David woke up and discovered the world outside his window, he nearly jumped out of his skin. "Penguins?" he gasped. "And an iceberg?!"

Indeed, a huge iceberg was sailing past his front window. The penguins riding it waved to him.

"Okay. Clearly I need to go back to bed." David started to turn away from the window, but stopped when he saw Duke pulling up out front, followed by Tristan's motorcycle. From Duke's expression, he could clearly see the iceberg and was staring after it.

David threw open the front door and hurried down the steps. "Duke! What's happening?!" he exclaimed.

Duke started and looked to him, completely serious. "It's the Big Five, just like I was afraid of," he said. "We have to go get Serenity and then try to find the others."

"Just give me a moment to get dressed for the day and I'll be right with you," David promised. He gave a quick nod to Tristan as he turned to run back inside. "Hello."

Tristan leaned on his motorcycle. "Hey."

Duke sighed when he and Tristan were alone again. "You guys should really try to patch up your problems."

Tristan scowled. "He's the one who blew up at us. He's never apologized for it either."

Now that was awkward territory. Especially since Duke's happiness was the reason David had lost his temper. But, not wanting to show any vulnerability, Duke twirled a piece of dark hair around his finger. "I guess because he still feels like he had a legitimate reason to be upset."

"Yeah? Well, maybe I feel like he didn't," Tristan countered.

Hurt flickered in Duke's eyes, and he averted his gaze from the rear-view mirror before it could be spotted. "Oh." He frowned. "Look, Tristan. Whatever grudge you still have against me, you'd better at least be more willing to trust me this time around. The Big Five are playing for keeps. We can't be fighting among ourselves."

"I know!" Tristan shot back. He frowned too. He hadn't seen the hurt, but he had heard it in Duke's voice, and now he felt bad. He really hadn't meant to say that, and he didn't even mean it, but it had just jumped out and now he couldn't take it back.

"Duke, I'm sorry, man," he said now. "Actually, even though I'm still kind of ticked off at David, I realize he probably had a point. I know we didn't include you as much as we could have, and that wasn't right. I'm sorry."

Duke perked up a bit. "You mean that?"

It actually hurt when Tristan heard the amazement and hope in Duke's voice. He hadn't thought it before, but Duke really had felt bad. "Yeah," he insisted. "I really mean it. And I do trust you, Duke, even though I'm still also upset about Serenity."

Duke finally smiled a bit. "Thanks, Tristan." He sobered. "Serenity made her own choice, you know."

"Yeah, I know." Tristan looked away.

David came back out then. "Alright, let's go," he said, leaping into the car next to Duke. "And just watch out for floating glaciers. We don't want your car to be the next Titanic."

"Not funny," Duke grunted, even though he knew David was serious.

xxxx

Alister had been up late with a chartered flight, so he had opted to sleep in. The last thing he expected was to be woke up by Valon yelping in the hall.

"Raph! You've gotta come look at this!"

Alister groaned and put the pillow over his head. Whatever Valon was shook up about, Raphael could tend to it. He wanted to sleep.

"Valon, what's all the racket? You're going to wake Alister! You know he's a light sleeper."

"Yeah, but just _look_ at this!"

". . . What the . . . ?!"

Okay, now Raphael being rattled was something else again. Alister came out from under the pillow and the covers and went over to the window. The penguins playing on the ice-covered roof of the house behind them was more than enough to rattle him as well.

He ran out into the hall. "What's wrong with the town?!"

"I think we should find out." Raphael, not surprised at all to see Alister, went over to the hall telephone and picked it up.

"You're calling the Pharaoh?" Alister deduced.

"Who else?" Raphael quickly dialed and then waited for the phone to be picked up. When it was, it was by a worried Solomon Muto.

"Hello?"

"Hello," Raphael greeted. "This is Raphael Laurent. Uh . . . is the Pharaoh there? Or Yugi?"

"I'm afraid not," Solomon said. "Yugi left a note saying they know what's causing this strangeness in town and they've gone off to fix it. Leaving me behind again," he grumbled.

"But he doesn't say in the note what's causing it?" Raphael frowned.

"No, he doesn't. I'm going to go out there and investigate for myself," Solomon declared.

In the background, a harried woman exclaimed, "Dad! You know you shouldn't!"

"Oh, I'm perfectly fine!" Solomon insisted. "I'm even still fit enough to go on expeditions!"

"And it worries me sick every time you do," the woman fretted.

Raphael smiled a bit. All family units were the same—worrying, caring, loving. . . .

"We're going to go check it out too," he said.

"Then we'll see who figures it out first," Solomon said.

"I'll go get my chopper warmed up," Valon grinned as Raphael hung up.

"When we don't know what's causing this, we should stick together," Raphael said. "Maybe we should take the car."

"Aww, Raph!" Valon sighed.

"Motorcycles and ice don't mix," Alister said flatly. "The car would stand a better chance."

Valon walked out on the porch. "It don't even feel cold out here."

"Eh?" Raphael came out too. "You're right." He touched the snow on the porch railing. "Neither does the snow. Even though it feels like snow."

"So everything's fake." Alister raised an eyebrow. "Like augmented reality."

"Oh yeah! Kaiba was makin' some new game!" Valon whirled to face him. "So you think he did this?!"

"I don't know," Alister frowned. When he had hated Seto Kaiba, he would have believed it easily. Seto still wasn't one of his favorite people, but he couldn't quite imagine him doing something like blanketing the city in his new augmented reality world. He needed good publicity, and a stunt like that wouldn't help. "Kaiba's a better businessman than to think something like this would give him good sales."

"Then we must be caught up in another weird plot," Raphael grunted. "Great."

"So let's get out there and see what there is to see!" Valon exclaimed, running for the garage. In a moment, the door lifted and a motor revved.

"Looks like we're taking the bikes," Alister said.

"Or Valon is, at least," Raphael said. He still wondered if the car would be a better option at this point. Whenever things got weird, people always seemed to get hurt. They might run into some of them. And they wouldn't be able to do a lot to help take them elsewhere without the car.

xxxx

Seto had been talking to Roland for the last five minutes, while Joey grew more and more impatient. When he finally hung up, he was greeted with, "So what was that all about?!"

"Roland was giving me some important information," Seto said. "First, the city is locked down. No one can go in or out."

"What?!" Joey yelped.

"But how is that possible?" Atem exclaimed.

"There's an electromagnetic barrier around the city like a bubble," Seto said.

"So that means no aircrafts either?" Téa moaned.

"Not at any great distance." Seto scowled, shoving the phone in his pocket. "They did get a drone up high enough to take some pictures. Gansley's part of the city is mostly the most expensive houses. Crump's is other residences. Johnson's is the woods and Domino Canyon. Nesbitt's is downtown. Lector's is the rest of the residential area, a few businesses, and the cemetery."

"So . . . where do we go from here?" Joey wondered.

"Johnson's area is the nearest to our location," Seto said. "Of course, we no doubt have to beat Gansley first. I don't know if we have to clear the zones in a specific order for it to count."

"Oh, you can clear them in any order you wish, Seto Kaiba," came Gansley's voice.

"You creep!" Mokuba yelled. "Why don't you come down here and face us?"

"As you wish," Gansley smirked, appearing in front of Seto. "You can also defeat me now or after you get through all the obstacles of this zone."

"Really?" Seto gave him a suspicious look. "You're not going to say that we won't be going any farther than you?"

"Oh, I suspect that you will clear all the zones," Gansley said with an even deeper smirk.

"Then that means the real boss battle comes after we do," Yugi realized. "You're probably all going to team up and face us at the end!"

"We'll see," Gansley smiled.

"Wait," Joey frowned. "So why didn't we have to face Nesbitt before we got out of his zone?"

"Or Crump," Téa shuddered. "Not that I'm complaining."

"We knew you would run to Seto Kaiba," Gansley said. "We were waiting for that before officially starting this game."

"Oh, well, gee, thanks," Joey scowled.

Gansley ignored him. "Now, Seto Kaiba, are you ready to duel?"

Seto pulled out his deck. "Bring it on."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Serenity was beside herself with worry. Her mother had insisted she eat something, so she was working her way through an English muffin with butter and jelly. But she kept glancing out the window, staring at the Spanish moss and other bizarre, out-of-place sights.

"Serenity, Dear, please slow down," Ms. Kawai sighed. "If you get indigestion, you won't be able to do anything to help. Not that I want you involved in this!"

"I'll be alright, Mom," Serenity insisted. She wasn't about to bring up that one of the Big Five had a grudge against her. "But Duke really should have been here by now. . . ."

"He must have been held up." Ms. Kawai couldn't fully hide the disapproval from her voice. She only allowed her daughter to associate with that boy because they hadn't got serious. And she had to admit that she had seen positive changes in Serenity's personality ever since she had met her brother's friends and become part of their group. But Serenity had also developed a rebellious streak. Ms. Kawai had been horrified when Serenity had finally revealed why she had insisted on going after Duke and David when they had needed to go to Egypt some time back. At the same time, she couldn't help being proud of her daughter for insisting on helping her friends in such a serious crisis—and for her previous, unselfish act in taking on all of the memories of Duke's pain and sorrow so that he could be happy again. Serenity was growing up.

"Well, he was going to get David first," Serenity mused, dragging the woman back to the present. "But still . . ." She sighed and fell silent.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon enough," Ms. Kawai said.

"Hey, Mom . . ." Serenity hesitated, then finally said, "Do you ever wonder what happened to Dad? I mean, where he went when he disappeared."

". . . I wonder about a lot of things regarding your father," Ms. Kawai admitted. "I never would have left him if he hadn't changed from the person I married."

Serenity nodded. "It's kind of sad. I mostly have good memories of him, but I have some bad ones too."

"I never wanted to leave your brother with him," Ms. Kawai said. "At that time, he was coherent enough that he hired a good lawyer who enforced his desire that we each have one of the children after the divorce. Your father was still a good parent then, so the judge allowed it."

"And then we never knew how bad things had got until we found out he'd gone missing," Serenity said softly. "Joey never wanted to say anything bad about him when we talked. . . ."

"Joseph always had a great deal of misplaced loyalty in that man," Ms. Kawai frowned. "The police assumed he had gone out on a drunken binge when he never came back."

"I know it still bothers Joey," Serenity said. "He goes out looking for him sometimes."

"I know," Ms. Kawai sighed. Movement outside the window caught her attention. "There's your friends now."

"Oh good." Serenity gathered up the rest of the muffin and stood. "I'll see you later, Mom!" She gave her a quick hug with one arm, a gesture that was returned.

"Just be careful," Ms. Kawai pleaded.

"I will!" Serenity waved and hurried out the door. "Hi, Duke, David! Tristan?!" She blinked in surprise at Tristan on his motorcycle.

"Hey." Tristan grinned and waved. "Thought I'd come along as a bodyguard."

Serenity smiled. "You're sweet, Tristan."

"Hey, Serenity," Duke smiled.

David got out of the car to let Serenity get in next to Duke. "Your mother's watching us like a hawk," he noted.

"Well, you can't blame her." Serenity climbed in and then David re-entered the car. "So what's the plan?"

"We've been trying to get in touch with Yugi and the others," Duke said. "No one's answering their phones. But my guess is that they're with Kaiba, so we should probably check there next."

"Sounds good to me," Serenity said. "Oh . . . I hope you don't mind about the muffin," she exclaimed. "I wasn't done eating yet. . . ."

"That's fine," Duke said. "I know you're careful." He made sure to drive off more normally than usual, both not wanting to jar her and not wanting to give her mother another scare.

"Actually," David realized, "I haven't eaten yet. And I'm sure you haven't, Duke."

"We don't really have time to stop for food breaks," Duke frowned. "Although . . . in a disaster like this, we might not get a chance to eat for hours after we really get involved in it."

"Exactly," David said. "And we'll need strength to fight off the Big Bad Five. So why don't we stop at a McDonald's or something and get some food to go?"

Duke shrugged. "Works for me."

xxxx

It wasn't long before Mai was speeding down the street in her bluish-purple convertible, her hair streaming out behind her. She still had her motorcycle and liked to ride it, but it was currently in storage. It was a reminder of the darkest point in her life, and when she was trying to make good, she thought it best to leave it behind for now.

Not that showing up in her car would make her seem any less threatening to the people she had hurt.

No one seemed to know what was behind the bizarre state of the city. There were a lot of bitter whispers—and some yells—of "Seto Kaiba," but Mai really didn't think it sounded like his style. More than likely, it was an enemy of his, if he had any connection with the mess at all.

A Baby Dragon chirped as it leaped on the hood of her car. She gasped, shocked, and swerved to the side. "Go on, shoo!" she exclaimed.

Instead, the dragon plopped in the passenger seat and pulled the seatbelt down.

Mai stared. Then, with a sigh and a resigned smirk, she brought a hand to her head. "Okay, but if you don't like car rides, out you go."

The dragon just chirped again.

Mai shook her head and pulled back into the lane. "Well, at least you remind me of Joey," she said. "I guess you don't know where he is, do you?"

A negative sound, and the dragon shook his head.

"Heh. You almost seem human," Mai said in bemusement. "Oh well. I guess stranger things have happened."

The next question was where to go to find everyone. They could be spread out, but it seemed more likely that they were mostly together. Maybe they would go to Seto Kaiba for answers. Unfortunately, probably most of the city had the same idea. It could prove almost impossible to get into KaibaCorp.

Would they go to the house? If they didn't know where it was, it would likely be easy enough to find out.

Maybe she should try to find out about it too. Or maybe she should try to find someone she knew who might not be with the others, like . . .

"Mai?!"

She looked up with a start. Valon was coming right towards her on his motorcycle. He pulled over to the side and leaped off. "Mai, it really is you!"

Mai pulled over too. "Yeah, it is."

She hesitated. Of course she wanted to apologize to Valon too, but she hadn't expected to run into him head-on like this. She had planned on time to prepare what to say. Now she had to find the words right away.

"Valon, I'm . . . I'm so sorry for how I treated you," she stammered. She got out of the car and started over to him. "The Orichalcos brought out the worst in me and emphasized it. For me, that was how I felt I had to be alone because people held me back. But it doesn't make me feel better that it was mainly the Orichalcos talking and not me. You were trying to help me, in your misguided way, and I completely rejected you. I am so sorry."

"Hey, it's alright, Mai," Valon said softly. "I know how the Orichalcos affects minds. And I know that deep down, you were probably also rejecting me because you still cared about Wheeler in spite of the Orichalcos."

Mai looked away. "Yes, that's true," she admitted.

"And I'm just glad to see you again, no matter what the reason is that you came back." Valon glanced to the Baby Dragon in the car. "I guess it's the city being turned upsidedown that did it?"

"No, actually," Mai quickly told him. "I got in last night, before any of this happened. I came back because I wanted to apologize to you and to Joey, and to anyone else I've hurt."

"And then what?" Valon asked. "Are you gonna stick around?"

"I think so," Mai said. "I started checking housing listings several days ago. But I wanted to wait to see everybody before I made a final decision."

"Why? You figure they'll reject you?" Valon frowned.

"I'm sure Joey won't," Mai said. "He never did, even when I was at my worst. He never gave up on me. . . ." She trailed off. "But I'm not so sure some of the others feel the same way."

"Well, I wouldn't know about that," Valon said. "But they forgave all these loonies what tried to conquer the world or take revenge or blow up the world, so why not you?"

"None of these others were their friends," Mai said softly. "I betrayed their trust. That's worse than any of the villains they didn't even know."

"I heard that Marik bloke pretended to be their friend for a while," Valon said.

"That's true," Mai conceded. "But I really was their friend, until . . ." She turned away.

"Hey, they forgave Wheeler when he got taken over by an evil force," Valon insisted. Then he flinched. "Oh. . . . You probably don't know about that. . . ."

Mai looked back to him with a start, her stomach knotting at the horrible news. "Joey?!" _No, something like that couldn't happen to Joey! It couldn't! That was too cruel a fate for one so loyal and devoted to justice!_ She barreled on, half-unaware that her voice was rising in her panic. "When did that happen?! Is he alright?!"

"He's fine now," Valon assured her. "It was a few weeks ago. This organization called the Neo-Orichalcos started up and he got defeated by one of its members. Instead of having his soul stolen, the thing just took him over."

"No," Mai whispered. "I heard about the Neo-Orichalcos and wondered if I should look into it. Then I hesitated, wondering if it would bring up too many bad memories for me. And I hesitated so long that by the time I decided I had to look into it, they were already defeated."

"A good thing," Valon said. Not wanting to tell about the bikers' role in that misadventure, he said, "So, we're both tryin' to find out what's going on in town. How about we look into it together?"

"Well . . ." Mai glanced over Valon's shoulder as a blue sedan pulled up. Raphael and Alister were easily spotted inside, and both were giving her dark looks. "It looks like your friends are here now. Maybe teaming up wouldn't be such a hot idea."

"Eh?" Valon looked back as well. "Oh, once they know you're doing better, I'm sure everything will be okay, Mai."

Mai had to smile a bit in resignation. "Not everyone is as forgiving as you, Valon."

"I don't really forgive much," Valon said. "Not unless it's someone I really like."

The other bikers were getting out now. "Valon, what's going on?" Raphael demanded.

"Why is she here?" Alister frowned.

"Hey, it's alright," Valon protested. "Mai came back because she wanted to say she was sorry. I knew she would, someday."

"Yes, that's right," Mai said quietly. "I am deeply sorry. But I understand if you can't forgive the way I treated Valon."

"Not easily." Raphael glowered at her.

"Well . . ." Mai turned and hurried back to her car. "I think we'd better all focus on finding out what's happened to the city, and where everyone else is. I'll catch you boys later."

The Baby Dragon cheered, anxious to get back on the road.

"Mai . . . !" Valon called after her.

She looked to him. "I promise, I'll see you later, Valon." She gave him a sad smile before revving the engine and speeding past him and the other bikers.

Alister glowered after her. "That's all we need."

"Come on, you two," Valon protested. "You know she was poisoned by the Orichalcos, same as we were. And like how you were poisoned by the Neo-Orichalcos, Alister."

Alister flinched. Valon certainly had a point.

"You don't even know what she's like when she's in her normal mind," Valon continued.

"Alright, we'll give you that," Raphael said. "Yeah, I guess she deserves another chance. We just don't want her hurting you again."

"And I appreciate that." Valon climbed back on his motorcycle. "But right now, we probably should try to get to the bottom of this mess. Come on!" And he sped off.

Sighing, Raphael turned and headed back to the car. Alister wordlessly followed.

xxxx

Seto was not in a good mood as he fought Gansley. The last thing he had wanted was to see the Big Five again, and especially not with them taking over his game. No one else was allowed to duel alongside him, so they were trapped behind a clear barrier while the duel proceeded.

"If you've been around all this time, why didn't you come out before, you snake?" Seto demanded.

"We've certainly been observing you and everyone else," Gansley sneered. "But we had to devise the perfect plan for revenge. That only started to develop when you started developing your augmented reality game. We all knew it was ideal for our purposes! Not only could we ruin your invention, we could use it to give ourselves solid bodies in the real world."

Yami Bakura subconsciously laid a hand over the Infinity Ring. Either they didn't know the Ring could grant a mortal form to the wearer or they had wanted to use the game anyway since then they could each have a solid, albeit not mortal, form. But what would happen if they didn't know of the Ring's power and learned of it later?

Bakura rested a hand on his shoulder. It was a legitimate reason for concern. The more he thought of it, the more worried he grew. But he would try not to show it, for Yami Bakura's sake.

"And you've sure done that," Seto said in disgust. "Now you're planning to commit murder in order to get what you want."

"Oh, I wouldn't put it quite like that," Gansley said. "It's more that the rules of our new game will not be kind to anyone who fails."

"Anything to absolve yourselves of the charges," Seto said. "But I'm pretty sure the police will still consider it murder."

"They're so unimaginative, naturally they would," Gansley said. "As far as we're concerned, we're ridding ourselves of all of you without personally dirtying our hands with your blood."

"That's sick!" Mokuba cried.

"You big sleaze!" Joey yelled, shaking a fist. "Crush him, Kaiba!"

Seto drew his next card. "I'm going to." Frankly, so far the duel had been far too easy. Gansley's monsters were weak, but he considered them valuable because of their various special effects, such as preventing Seto from drawing on his next turn or preventing him from attacking. But without his Deckmaster system, he hadn't been able to block all of Seto's attacks, and Seto had gotten in a couple of good hits. Now he had to wonder if Gansley's deck was really this pathetic or if he was falling into a trap. Knowing the Big Five, it was probably the latter. But he had no choice other than to press on, since surrender was not an option. "Alright, Gansley. You asked for it! Now, feel the rage of my Vorse Raider! Attack his face-down monster!"

Gansley sneered. "Exactly as I planned. All I have to do is discard one card from my hand and my monster flips up and automatically destroys your monster before it destroys mine!"

Seto stiffened. "No!"

"Now what's he going to do?!" Téa gasped.

"Luckily, that effect only works once," Yugi said. "It's actually another weak monster. Kaiba just needs to draw another of his monsters and he should be able to destroy it!"

"But it won't damage Gansley's lifepoints since it's in defense position," Atem frowned.

"That would depend on if Kaiba has any cards in his deck that can deal out damage even if the card is in defense mode," Yami Bakura pointed out.

"Oh yeah," Joey blinked. "You've got one of those kind. They sure are tough customers."

Gansley just sneered. "I will place this card face-down, and that is all for now."

Seto frowned. That was certainly suspicious. He would also lay a card face-down before attacking again. As he drew a new card, he started to smirk.

"Alright, Gansley! This ends here!" he proclaimed. "First I'll lay this monster face-down. Then I'll place another card face-down and attack with my Battle Ox!"

"Of course you will. And of course you'll fail!" Gansley said in delight. "Mirror Wall!"

"Oh no!" Téa cried. "It'll block his attack and he'll take half the damage when his monster's attack power is cut in half!"

"Or not. Reveal face-down card! Remove Trap!" Seto gave a sweeping gesture and the card hologram flipped up. "Your Mirror Wall's gone, Gansley. My attack goes through. And now that you're defenseless, I can do this. My other monster card is Kaibaman."

Everyone stared as the strange card flipped up.

"Kaibaman?" Joey blinked. "What the heck? It looks like Kaiba, wearin' a helmet and long hair."

Gansley was terribly amused. "Such a weak monster! You surely aren't going to launch a direct attack with that! Why, Pegasus must have created that card to insult you!"

"Actually, he gave it to me as a gift," Seto said. "It'll make sense when you see its special ability. Kaibaman lets me special summon a Blue Eyes White Dragon without sacrificing other monsters to get it on the field!"

Now Gansley was no longer amused. "What?! You can't!"

"Pegasus says I can," Seto smirked. "So, go, Kaibaman! Summon the mighty Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

In a moment the beast appeared, its roar echoing off all the nearby buildings. Gansley took a step back, staring at it in horror. "I have nothing left to protect myself!"

"I know. Blue Eyes White Dragon! White Lightning Attack!" Seto watched with relish as the rest of Gansley's lifepoints dropped to zero. "And that's game over."

Gansley fell backwards to the ground. Glowering at Seto with hate-filled eyes, he grabbed his cane and got back up. "For now, perhaps. But you have a long way to go before you're safe, Seto Kaiba." And he vanished.

The barrier shimmered and disappeared as well, allowing everyone else to run out onto the field.

"Big brother!" Of course, Mokuba was first. He ran right to Seto and hugged him. Seto returned the embrace.

"Wow, that was an awesome duel!" Yugi exclaimed. "When did Pegasus give you that card, Kaiba?"

"When he showed up to apologize," Seto said. "This was my first time trying it out in an official duel. I'd say it's a keeper."

"No kidding!" Joey said. "It sure saved all of us this time! I don't wanna know what happens if you lose a duel here!"

"Me either," Téa shuddered. "Maybe it's an automatic death, for real. So now what?"

"We keep going, like Gansley said," Seto said. "We're not out of his section yet."

"I hope nothing else will go wrong," Téa said, although she knew it was likely a futile hope.

None of them were aware that they were being observed on a viewscreen by all of the Big Five. The demented men were sitting at a conference table in their current office, planning and plotting for what would come next. Crump sneered. "Oh, don't worry, Téa. Everything else will go wrong, soon enough!"

Lector glowered at Gansley as he joined them. "You let Seto Kaiba defeat you!" he cried.

"I didn't know he had some new way of summoning his precious dragon," Gansley retorted. "But that doesn't matter. We all knew they might defeat us in the first rounds. If anything, it will give them more confidence. Then we will have all the more satisfaction when we bring it to the ground!"

"One thing I've noticed," Johnson said. "If we want to get to the Infinity Item bearers, we must go through the people they care about most."

"Yes, we all agreed it would be important to get them out of the way," Gansley said. "They will be our most powerful opponents. Although apparently not even their ancient magic can save them from our game!"

"Did you really believe magic would be more powerful than technology?" Nesbitt scoffed. "Negative!"

"You're still talking like a robot," Lector snorted. "Did you ever stop to think about the irony that while you're goin' on about how superior machines are to men, it was humans who created them? How does that make them superior?"

"At least they don't have humans' weaknesses," Nesbitt insisted.

"Maybe not, but they sure have plenty of weaknesses of their own," Lector said. "When was the last time you fought with a computer that refused to do what it was told?"

"Computers always do what they're told," Nesbitt said. "It's just that humans don't always know the right instructions to give them!"

"Alright, enough of this!" Gansley interrupted. "We have more important things to worry about. Such as exactly how we're going to devastate the item holders."

"I've done some research that could prove very valuable," Crump spoke up.

"Well, then by all means, do tell," Johnson said.

"I say that we should focus on the weakest link first," Crump said. "Of the two item holders, the Pharaoh has already conquered his darkness and fully earned his second chance. It will probably be much more difficult to get him to give in to his rage. The other man, meanwhile, is, shall we say, on probation. His item lets him stay mortal, but only if he plays nice. But if something were to go drastically wrong and he decided to use his item for purposes that would be frowned on, it will turn on him and he'll be completely incinerated by it!"

"Hmm." Johnson's eyes gleamed. "This is useful information. But what would push him to that point?"

Gansley laced his fingers. "The answer is obvious. We all saw how tightly he held on to that boy, even while they were being tossed about in our underwater tornado. Harm the boy, and he will snap."

"We need to get rid of the boy anyway," Johnson said. "But what do you suggest we do?"

"Whatever you deem the cruelest, most foul end," Gansley sneered. "They'll be out of my section soon, and they're heading for yours. Since you chose the great outdoors for your section, I'm certain you can find countless dangers to befall them. One of them can take his life."

"But wait just a minute," Lector interjected. "If that man goes berserk, don't you realize that he'll be comin' after us?!"

"Don't you realize we can't be harmed?" Gansley laughed. "These bodies are solid, but not mortal. He can come after us all he wants. Anyway, if he uses his Ring to act out of sheer hatred, he will be gone before he can do much of any damage to us."

"I suppose you're right," Lector said slowly. "But I'm not sure I like this. From things we've observed, we know that man is dangerous even while he's in his right mind. If we make him completely lose control, it could easily backfire on us."

"It won't," Gansley insisted.

"Don't forget, that boy is friends with Yugi and all the rest," Johnson said. "They'll get angry too. We might not have the resources to contend with all of them, if they all decide to avenge his death."

"Try taking out more than one of them," Gansley sneered. "They're all supposed to die eventually."

"Why don't you try taking some of them out?" Johnson countered. "They are still in your territory. And I'm sure that once you remove Seto Kaiba's fail-safes, you can command a shark or a sea serpent to do some devastating damage that will be real."

"That's a good point," Gansley agreed. "I believe I will. But meanwhile, Johnson, see what deathtraps you can come up with for your section. In fact, all of you should! It's time to take our game up several notches, especially now that we have more people intending to play." He nodded to several other viewscreens suspended in the air.

"These people I don't recognize," Johnson complained, noting the bikers.

"I remember that woman," Crump said, pointing out Mai in her car. "She was a victim the very first time we tried to use virtual reality to ruin Mr. Kaiba."

"I remember her too," Johnson said. "Joseph Wheeler was very fond of her."

"We should be able to do something with that," Gansley sneered. "Yes, we'll target various loved ones of this unfortunate group, reducing their number and leaving the remainder far more vulnerable to attack! It's the perfect plan!"

No one disagreed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Mai was staying on the lookout for anyone she knew. She was really hoping to find Joey, but when she saw Duke's car parked at a McDonald's, she wasn't about to pass that up. Anyway, for all she knew, Joey was with Duke. She parked next to the other convertible and got out.

"You be good," she told the Baby Dragon, who chirped.

But going inside proved unnecessary.

"Mai?!"

She spun around at the sound of Serenity's amazed and joyful voice. The girl was running outside, her hair streaming behind her. Still inside, Duke, David, and Tristan were visible watching her.

Mai's heart clenched. Seeing Tristan was probably not going to go well. But at least here was another friendly face. "Serenity," she smiled. "How are you doing, hon?"

"I'm worried about Joey," Serenity said, "but I'm so happy to see you!" She paused, blinking in concern. "Um . . . it really _is_ you, isn't it, Mai? I mean . . . you're not some illusion the Big Five put here to torture us?"

"So they're the ones doing this?!" Mai exclaimed. "I promise, Serenity, I'm really me." She gave her a bittersweet look. "I should have come back with you and Duke and David and your friend Snakes after our little European and Egyptian adventure. I was too afraid to face my demons and I chose to keep running instead."

"The only thing that matters is that you decided to come back now," Serenity smiled. "Joey's going to be so happy! I just hope we can find him soon. . . ."

"Hey, Mai." Now it was Duke speaking. He came out of the door with several sacks. "It's . . . really good to see you." He was clearly surprised. "What made you finally decide to come back?"

"It's a long story," Mai said. "I'd kind of like Joey to be here when I tell it. . . ."

"That's fine," Duke said. "He probably deserves to hear it the most."

"Would you like something to eat?" David asked. "We brought extra, just in case we ran into any starving friends along the way."

Mai smiled a bit. "I'll take a raincheck on that for now, but we'll see how I feel later." Her stomach knotted as Tristan stepped outside and gave her a cold and searching look. "Hi, Tristan. . . ."

Tristan just kept studying her. "I guess you're probably going to say you finally became a good enough Duelist to warrant coming back."

Mai sighed. "I deserved that. But no, Tristan, I didn't. I realized that was just stupid and I should come back anyway."

"Well, Joey will be thrilled," Tristan said.

"But you're not, huh?" Mai said with a wry and knowing smirk.

"I just want to make sure you won't be hurting Joey again," Tristan said. He set the sacks he was carrying on the hood of Duke's car. "You know what Joey ended up thinking after you forced him into that Orichalcos duel?"

Mai felt her stomach drop even more. "I . . . I'm not sure. . . ."

"He decided that _he'd_ been a bad friend!" Tristan spat. "After all he'd done for you, trying to save you from Yami Marik, nearly getting _killed_ for you, and he thinks he didn't do enough. You sure had a lot of nerve, repaying him by joining a nutcase bent on destroying the world and not caring if you joined in as long as you had power!"

Mai flinched.

"Tristan, wait," Serenity protested. "Mai wasn't herself. She was sick. She didn't even know what she would have to do to get that power until the Orichalcos had already poisoned her!"

"Like she would have cared if she had," Tristan shot back.

"I want to think I would have," Mai said quietly. "But I don't blame you for not trusting me, Tristan. You have every right not to. Every one of you does. I'm surprised that any of you want anything to do with me."

"Friends forgive, Mai," Serenity said softly.

"And you really helped us out of more than one jam," Duke said. "I'll admit that I might not trust you either if it hadn't been for that."

David stiffened. "And I think this conversation is going to have to be put on hold, boys and girls."

"Why?" Tristan asked, his voice clipped.

"Because there's a flock of flying monsters barreling right towards us," David exclaimed, pointing towards the sky. Dragons and other winged beasts almost appeared as a black cloud against the overcast backdrop.

"Oh no!" Serenity yelped.

Mai's Baby Dragon chirped, undid the seatbelt, and spread his wings, prepared to take off and try to defend Mai and the others.

Mai looked to him. "You've sure got a lot of spunk. But there's no way you'll last against all of them!" She frowned. "I wonder if we can summon monsters from our decks, like the first time the Big Five tried sticking people in a game. . . ."

"I think things work different this time around!" Tristan cried.

"Well, this can't hurt." Duke had spotted something trying to hide behind a potted tree just to the side of the door. "I think it's a Crawling Dragon."

"But those can't even fly!" Tristan yelped.

"They can still breathe fire," Duke said. He looked to the Crawling Dragon. "Will you help us?"

The Crawling Dragon roared and stepped out.

"That's two." But Duke frowned, looking around. "We still need more. . . ."

"Right now, it looks like this is all we're gonna get!" Tristan exclaimed. "Look, I'm going to take Serenity inside."

"Not unless everyone's going inside," Serenity insisted.

"Serenity, this is no place for you!" Tristan protested. "Gah!" He grabbed her and dived out of the way as a Curse of Dragon tried to blast them.

"It's no place for anyone!" Serenity said. "I can't go inside and be safe if everyone else is staying outside!"

"Honestly, going inside sounds like a good idea right now," Duke frowned. "Unless they try to knock the building down on our heads. We might stand a better chance driving off in the cars. And you should come too, Tristan. Just leave your motorcycle here."

"Okay, okay!" Tristan jumped into the backseat of Duke's car, grabbing the food as he went. "But do you really think holograms could knock a building over?!"

"Do you really want to find out?" Duke countered.

". . . Good point," Tristan conceded.

Mai headed for her car. "You four go one way and I'll try to lead some of these creatures off in another direction."

Serenity looked to her with a start. "But Mai . . . !"

"It's the least I can try to do," Mai said with a sad smile. "But don't worry; I'll be back." She gave Serenity a thumbs-up before getting into her car.

Serenity bit her lip. "Be careful," she said softly. "You just came back. It would be too horrible if anything happened to you now. . . ."

Duke brought an arm around her shoulders. "Mai can take care of herself. She lost her way for a while, but now that she's found her way back, she won't let the Big Five ruin it. Anyway, she has that spunky Baby Dragon to protect her."

"That's true," Serenity said.

"So let's go." Duke ushered her into the car, where David and Tristan were already waiting. Then he jumped in and took off at his usual speed.

Tristan yelped as he crashed into the inside of the door. "I'd almost forgot how much I hate riding with you!" he cried.

"Yeah? Well, right now, going fast is our best course of action!" Duke countered.

Tristan couldn't disagree.

xxxx

Gansley's underwater world was eerie yet fascinating. As the group continued through the fake water, various fish and other Water type Duel Monsters swam past.

"You know, I could enjoy this a whole lot better if I didn't have to think that some gross creature is probably going to jump out at us," Téa moaned.

"Or that the water's gonna start churning up again," Joey frowned.

"I doubt they'll try the same trick twice," Yami Bakura said. "Not when there are so many other options open to them."

"Maybe we'll run into one of your lizards," Joey said. "That'd be nice. Better than a shark or a . . . yaaaah!" He jumped a mile as a huge grinning face filled with teeth floated past him.

Seto rolled his eyes. "It's just a Pot of Greed, Wheeler."

Joey snapped to. "Oh! Right." He grabbed it. "Let's see what's in here!"

"Just don't fall in yourself," Téa remarked as Joey put his entire arm into the deep pot.

"Ha ha. You'd better just hope ol' Joey shares what he finds in here!" Joey straightened, pulling out a shiny, reflective object that almost looked like an accordion with sharp points. "Uh . . . what the heck am I supposed to do with this?"

"That's a Mirror Wall," Marik exclaimed.

"A portable one?" Joey blinked at it.

"You can unfold it when you need it and it'll grow big and act just like it does in Duel Monsters," Mokuba said.

"And I can carry it around in the meantime and it won't be like glass? That's handy." Joey stuffed it in his pocket and reached into the jar again. "Let's see what else is in here. It's . . . ugh, it's kind of stuck. . . ." He tugged on the object. "And now _I'm_ kind of stuck!"

Yugi came over. "Joey, how did you get stuck?!" he said in disbelief. "This opening is really big!"

"I don't know!" Joey wailed. "But you can see I can't get my hand back out of here!"

Mokuba facepalmed. "Only you, Joey."

Yugi peered into the opening. "It looks like whatever's in there is pulling on your hand."

"Oh great!" Joey exclaimed. "Next thing you know, it'll try to eat it!"

"My fail-safes would prevent that from happening," Seto insisted.

"Unless the Big Five removed the fail-safes," Atem frowned in concern.

"And they totally would! Gah!" Joey frantically shook his hand and the pot. "Get it off me!"

"Calm down, Joey!" Yugi grabbed the pot. "I think I can reach in here and . . . yeah, here it is!" He pried Joey's hand free of the insistent Duel Monster and pulled out a frog.

Joey stared. "That's what wanted to chow down on my hand?! What is it?!"

"Des Frog," Yugi said. "Actually, this is a really good catch, Joey! He has 1900 attack points!"

"Oh yeah?" Joey perked up. "Awesome! Who'd think this little guy could pack such a punch?"

"After what you just came through, I wouldn't think you'd be so surprised," Téa deadpanned.

Joey scowled. "Yeah, yeah, rub it in."

Yami Bakura smirked in a bit of amusement, but quickly sobered. This had been a harmless diversion, but the Big Five were no doubt planning something sinister. Maybe this would be when they'd launch it, while everyone was distracted.

Bakura came up next to him. "What is it, Yami?"

"Nothing yet," Yami Bakura growled. "Unless something might be about to sneak up on us."

"Like that huge stingray?!" Joey suddenly gasped.

Everyone jumped a mile.

"That doesn't look like a stingray!" Téa cried. "It looks like a swimming dinosaur with wings and a tail!"

"Phantom Dragonray Bronto," Bakura realized. "It's a very useful monster to have, really. If it's friendly, we should try to get it on our side."

"I'm pretty sure that other thing isn't friendly!" Joey yelped.

"Another frog?" Téa sighed, her hands on her hips.

"No!" Joey shot back. "Fortress Whale! And he's pointing all his firepower at us!"

That was more than enough reason to panic almost everyone. They scattered, desperate to escape the barrage. Yami Bakura, however, stood in annoyance. "The Red Eyes Black Dragon has more attack points," he called, "and so does Dark Necrofear as long as she's equipped with Lucky Iron Axe. You're in no danger!"

"Only it looks like all Water monsters are getting a field power bonus!" Joey yelped. "Fortress Whale's more powerful than Red Eyes!"

"But still not Dark Necrofear," Yami Bakura insisted. "Attack!"

Dark Necrofear moved to lunge at the new enemy. Fortress Whale's cannons erupted in the next moment. The ocean floor rumbled as some of the ammunition hit it. Joey flew off his feet and floated ahead in the fake water.

"Oh man! Now what—an underwater earthquake?!" he cried.

Marik grabbed on to Revival Jam. "The ground is opening up!" he said in horror. "Don't let yourself be swallowed in one of the cracks. There's no telling what will happen to you then!"

"Thanks for the warning," Joey exclaimed. He swam desperately to get past the newly formed fissures. Revival Jam struggled in Marik's arms, wanting to get away, but Marik held fast.

"You might not re-form if you fall into the earth and are lost," Marik told him. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

Revival Jam insisted on wiggling out of Marik's grasp anyway. He quickly swam ahead, almost disappearing into the water's nearly identical color.

"I'd say Revival Jam just wanted to give you a better chance of getting away," Yugi smiled. "He knew you could swim better if you weren't holding on to him."

"I guess so," Marik said. "But I hope he'll be alright. . . ."

"What happened to Dark Necrofear?!" Bakura exclaimed.

"She defeated the whale," Yami Bakura said. "There won't be any more ammunition to dodge."

"That's good, 'cause we're barely managing with the first round!" Joey cried.

As they pushed ahead, the water abruptly fell away and everyone, human and Duel Monster, dropped to the grass. Shocked, they lay there for a moment as they tried to decide what had happened now and what to do about it.

"Hey," Mokuba said then, "the water's still over there!"

Everyone looked. It was indeed. It shimmered and stood, climbing into the sky as a great wall. Revival Jam hopped out of it and plopped next to a relieved Marik.

"Obviously we must have cleared Gansley's section and now we're in Johnson's," Seto said. "It doesn't look like he changed the existing landscape much." He eyed the grass and hills and steep cliffs.

"So . . . what does that mean?" Téa asked uneasily.

"Most likely, that we need to watch out for other problems, such as Duel Monsters that might be prominent in meadows and woods," Seto said.

Yugi nodded. "There's probably a lot of Insect and Beast type Duel Monsters here."

Joey suddenly shuddered. "H-Hey, you don't think Johnson extended his section all the way to Cooperstown, do you?"

Seto rolled his eyes. "That pathetic ghost town? What would he want with it?"

"Atmosphere?" Joey suggested.

"I don't think ghosts are Johnson's style, Joey," Mokuba said.

"No, but he likes to use people's weaknesses against them," Seto said. "If he knows Wheeler is afraid of ghosts, he might exploit that."

Joey stiffened. "Hey! I am _not_ afraid of ghosts!" he boomed.

Yami Bakura gave him an entertained look. "Oh? You're not?"

"I . . . just don't like them very much," Joey mumbled. Shifting nervously, he added, "Present company excepted. I think."

"Hmm. I'm just as mortal as you, for the moment," Yami Bakura said. "But thank you for the kind words. I think." He smirked and gave a mock bow.

"Let's just start walking," Atem interrupted as he walked past the thief. "Hopefully there will be no need to go to Cooperstown to complete Johnson's stage of the game. If I had to guess, however, I imagine he is controlling it since it's in Domino Canyon."

"I've gotta admit, that's one place I've never wanted to visit," Téa said. "Not that I believe that all the stories people say about it are true."

"You mean how it always looks like people have just been there five minutes ago when no one is there at all?" Bakura said. "I must say, that's quite disturbing. There's no way it could really be true, though . . . could it?"

"Of course there's a way," Yami Bakura snorted. "All of you know so little of the supernatural. I could tell you exactly how it could be true. But I'm sure you don't really want to hear it."

"You got that right!" Joey snapped. "Why do you always have to mess with people's heads, even when you're tryin' to be 'good'?!" He made quotation marks in the air with his fingers.

Unconcerned, Yami Bakura just shrugged. "It's harmless."

"Tell that to my nerves!" Joey boomed.

"Come on, guys, don't fight," Yugi pleaded. "We need to all be united on this."

Yami Bakura walked on, with Bakura close at his side. "Of course."

Joey tensely watched as Dark Necrofear followed them. ". . . So does your monster have any official backstory?" he wondered. "You know, how she got where she is, why she doesn't talk, what's up with the creepy broken doll. . . ."

"Are you sure you would want me to tell you?" Yami Bakura countered.

". . . No," Joey retorted.

Téa placed a hand to her forehead. "Oh brother."

Even though everyone knew there was going to be trouble, no one expected what suddenly happened. As one of them stepped down, a horrific explosion ripped through the area. The ground on which they were standing split in two, violently rumbling as each part formed into a separate steep cliff. Those who were standing right near the crack tried to jump away to safe ground. Some were successful. Some were not.

"Help!" Téa shrieked as she plummeted downward.

Seto caught hold of her wrist. She looked up, stunned as he began to pull her up.

Yugi had also lost his balance. He yelped, desperately clawing for the ground or the grass.

"Yugi!" Atem cried in alarm. He wasn't close enough.

Joey was, and he snatched Yugi's shirt. "You've saved me more times than I can count, Pal," he said. "Now it's my turn to save you."

Yugi sighed in relief. "Thanks, Joey," he said, relaxing when he was drawn up and over the edge of the precipice. He slumped into the grass.

No one knew that the disaster with the cliffs had just been a distraction. But as Yami Bakura moved forward to inspect the damage, a blast exploded near his feet. He looked up with a start. A Duel Monster was silhouetted on a higher peak above him, a ball of energy in hand.

"Who are you?!" Yami Bakura demanded.

The Duel Monster responded by throwing the sphere. Yami Bakura dove out of the way, snarling angrily. Dark Necrofear ran out in front of him, her axe in hand.

"Yami!" Without warning Bakura was there, tackling his friend around the waist. "You're going to have your second chance. I promise!"

A second blast hit from another direction, apparently fired from a second Duel Monster. Bakura screamed in pain. Yami Bakura hit the ground hard and lay dazed. Then Dark Necrofear swung her Lucky Iron Axe at their enemies and it was all over.

It was several more minutes before Yami Bakura stirred, fully coming back to the present. He blinked, blearily watching as he moved his hand slowly over the grass. It looked different than before. Startled, he roused up more fully and stared at it. His hair, now longer, swished across his back as he moved. The shock of what had happened had caused him to subconsciously switch forms. Now he resembled Bakura's older brother.

Bakura . . .

"Bakura, where are you?!" he called.

Blue and purple legs stepped in front of him. He looked up with a start. Dark Necrofear bent down, a handful of charred scraps in her hand. Although normally deadpan, now the regret and sadness in her eyes was obvious. Yami Bakura stared at her, then down at the remnants. They were unmistakable. In horror he reached out, taking the pieces of Bakura's shirt into his own hands.

"No," he whispered.

A dark fire came into his eyes. A Duel Monster had done this, no doubt under the Big Five's orders. Bakura had been killed saving him from a deadly blast, and this was all that was left of him. Now the Big Five would pay, and pay dearly. He would never forgive them for this.

But he would never forgive himself, either.

xxxx

Returning to consciousness hurt. He moaned, almost mirroring Yami Bakura's actions as he ran his hand across the cold floor. His soft brown eyes slowly opened. "Oh . . . what happened?" he mumbled. "And . . . what am I holding?"

It was a card of some kind. He blinked, staring down at it in confusion. "The Change of Heart?"

A frown crossed his features. He hadn't had his deck with him. This card could have only come from the augmented reality world they were in. He must have somehow picked it up just as he was being teleported out. And considering which card it was, did that mean he could use it to temporarily mind-control someone?

He shuddered. He hardly wanted to do that.

Slowly and shakily, he sat up. He was all alone in what looked like a conference room, laying on the floor near a long, oval table. Above him, screens playing out scenes across the city were on all sides of the room. Although there were no apparent walls or doors, there was a definite enclosure. He could not move beyond the screens.

"What is this?!" he cried. "Where am I?! I have to get out!"

A flash of white hair on one of the screens brought his attention sharply upward. Yami Bakura was staring in horror at the scraps of cloth in his hand. From his heartbroken expression, it was obvious what he thought they were.

The viewer reached behind himself. His sweater and shirt were both torn, exposing his back to the cold room. And now that he realized it, the exposed skin hurt. But that was hardly important.

"Yami!" he called in desperation. "Yami, I'm alright!" He placed his hand on the screen, tears pricking his eyes. Of course Yami Bakura could not hear him. And from the look coming into his eyes now, the Big Five would all be regretting this latest cruelty very soon.

"Oh Yami. . . ." Bakura sank to his knees, his fingers slipping down the screen onto the next one. "Yami, I'm alright. . . ."

But there was no way for him to get the message out.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Everyone definitely heard the new blasts and Yami Bakura and Bakura's exclamations. But by the time everyone was safely back on the ground and they could turn to look, nothing was there except scorched grass and cloth particles.

"Oh my gosh!" Yugi leaped up and ran over, his heart gathering speed in his horror. "Bakura?! Yami Bakura?! Where are you guys?! Are you alright?!" He fell to his knees, plucking up more of the scraps. "No. . . ." Horrified and heartbroken tears pricked his eyes.

Everyone still on Yugi's side of the cliff ran over. The others soon followed, brought over courtesy of Red Eyes Black Dragon.

"Yugi!" Atem dropped to his knees, staring at the charred pieces. "Oh no."

"What is this?!" Joey cried. "Are we deciding they've both been vaporized?!"

Yugi shut his eyes tightly. "We know the Big Five wanted to kill all of us," he said. Tears slipped down his face. "They tried to make most of us fall when the ground split. Then they must have gone after Bakura and Yami Bakura with another method when they weren't close enough to the edge!"

"Yeah? Well, I don't believe it!" Joey insisted. "Does that mean that the Infinity Ring got vaporized too?!"

". . . That doesn't seem too likely," Atem realized. "Especially not if they want its power. They wouldn't risk damaging it."

"So . . . does that mean they're probably alive?" Téa hoped.

"That thief probably is, at least," Seto said. "I don't know about Bakura." He looked down at the cloth scraps in Yugi's hands and clenched his own into fists. "They're turning my adventure game into something twisted and evil! I won't stand for this!"

"None of us are going to," Marik said grimly. "But the only way to defeat them is to go through all the levels of the game as they've re-created it."

"So let's keep moving already!" Joey ran past all of them. "We'll whup those Big Five creeps into next week so hard, they won't know what hit them! And we'll find our missing friends! I'll bet they're both just fine and the Big Five's just trying to scare us! How many times did we think it was curtains for somebody and then we got them back?!"

"Uh, Joey?" Yugi blinked at his friend as he got to his feet. "Do you realize you just called Yami Bakura a friend?"

"Of course I realize!" Joey retorted. "He is, ain't he?!" And he ran off ahead. "Come on! Where did you get to, you crazy thief?! Don't you know we're all worried about you and stuff?! And you too, Bakura! Stop playin' tricks and come out!"

Atem sighed. "It's nice to see that Joey has got past his antagonistic feelings towards Yami Bakura. I just hope he's right that they're both still alive."

"I want to believe it," Yugi said. "It's too horrible otherwise. Kaiba made a good argument why Yami Bakura is probably alive . . . but what about poor Bakura?" He stared down at the clothing scraps.

". . . And hey, I just thought of something," Téa moaned. "What if Yami Bakura thinks Bakura is dead too?"

Yugi's stomach dropped. "Then he might try to take down the Big Five single-handed!"

"So who are you worried about in that case?" Seto deadpanned. "Him or them?"

"Mostly him," Téa said. "Especially if he taps into the power of the Infinity Ring. If it doesn't like what he does, it'll kill him!"

"Not that I really want to defend him, but could anything he does possibly be wrong when it comes to the Big Five?" Seto retorted.

Atem had to briefly half-smirk. "I couldn't say."

"Hey, if he wants to beat those guys up, I'm all for it," Mokuba said. "Anyway, he couldn't do much worse than that, could he? It's not like they have real bodies here."

"That's a good question," Yugi said. "They're solid bodies, but I don't know if they feel pain." He looked to where Joey had gone even further ahead, still calling to Bakura and Yami Bakura. "We'd better not let ourselves get split up," he worried. "Let's go with Joey."

They all hurried ahead.

Téa fell back to talk to Seto. "Hey, Kaiba . . . I wanted to thank you for not letting me fall."

Seto grunted. "There wouldn't have been any purpose in that."

"He means you're welcome," Mokuba smiled.

"Gee, I never would have guessed," Téa shot back.

xxxx

Mai sped up and down the streets, leading some of the flying Duel Monsters away from Duke and the others. Her Baby Dragon flew above her, prepared to attack if any of them got too close.

It seemed like they had been at this for a long time now. Mai was starting to tire, but of course these holographic programs never would. They would still have energy even after she had to stop. And with the Big Five in charge, she didn't want to think about what would happen to her then.

Just as it started to seem hopeless, the sight of a trap card suspended in the air caught her eye. "Could it be?" She reached out for it. "Radiant Mirror Force!"

As soon as she touched it, a bright light filled the area. When it was gone, the only Duel Monster left was her Baby Dragon. All of their enemies had been defeated.

She slumped back in amazed relief. "We did it," she breathed.

The Baby Dragon chirped in triumph and flew back down to her car, settling into the passenger seat.

"Well," Mai sighed, "what now? It seems like we should have run into Joey after all this time. We must have been over most of the city!"

"Allow me to welcome you to our game, Ms. Valentine."

Mai started. A tall man wearing glasses had just appeared in front of her car, smirking as he held out a business card. She took it with a frown. "You're one of the Big Five," she realized.

"That's right. Johnson, to be exact. We weren't expecting you, but we can certainly accommodate you."

Mai glowered. "Where's Joey?!"

"Ah yes, Joseph Wheeler. Well, at the moment he's in my section of the city," Johnson said.

Mai was not impressed. "And where's that?"

"Outside the more urban part of the city, up near Domino Canyon." Johnson smirked. "I always liked taking my vacations up there."

"Fine!" Mai snapped. "Then I'll go there. But he'd better not be hurt."

"He's fine for the moment," Johnson said. "However, I can't guarantee his safety for all the time it will take you to drive out to him."

Mai's eyes darkened. "If he's not alright, you're going to have to answer to me. And I can promise you, that won't be pretty!"

"No, I'm sure it won't," Johnson said. "But I'll take my chances, especially since this time we don't intend to let anyone get away. That includes you, Ms. Valentine." And he vanished.

Mai didn't bother to take time to process what had just happened. Instead she immediately floored the accelerator and sped off towards the mountains at the edge of town. She didn't know the Big Five as well as Joey did, but she remembered being invited to test that virtual reality game and then finding herself trapped inside. They had used her as a guinea pig to see whether they could successfully trap Seto Kaiba, and she didn't like it one bit. Now they had trapped the entire city in a new sick game, and she was determined to make sure her friends didn't suffer.

Unfortunately, she knew, they already might be. The Big Five would no doubt waste no time in turning their lives upsidedown, especially the ones they had particular grudges against. That would include Joey, she was sure.

And what of Duke's group? Hopefully they had either outrun or defeated the Duel Monsters chasing them. She didn't want to think about what might happen to them otherwise. Johnson's parting statement had been ominous. She could definitely see the Big Five planning to eliminate everyone once and for all this time around. After being defeated twice before, their anger was no doubt frightening.

She was just about to start the engine again when she caught sight of an older man wandering down the street, intensely curious about everything he saw. The fact that his hair and eyes were like Yugi's cinched it; he had to be Yugi's grandfather.

Immediately Mai got out of her car and ran over to him. "Hey! Mr. Muto!" She waved.

Solomon looked up with a start. "Hello? . . . Why, you're Mai Valentine!"

Mai ground to a stop. She hadn't expected recognition. "You know me?" she blinked in surprise.

"Of course!" Solomon said. "You were on television in tournaments, and Yugi and Joey always made sure to point you out. Anyway, I always remember the big names in Duel Monsters." He smiled.

Mai gave him a touched but sad smile. "I'm not much of a big name anymore."

"You are to Yugi and Joey, and that's the most important thing," Solomon said.

Mai shifted. There were more important things to discuss, but she couldn't help asking, "Do you . . . know everything? Including about Dartz and the Orichalcos?"

"Yes." Solomon gave a grave nod.

"And you're not worried for me to be around?" Mai regarded him in disbelief.

"Of course not!" Solomon snorted. "You've got past all that, haven't you?"

". . . Well, yes . . ."

"So there's no reason to worry!" Solomon looked around. "Everyone will be so happy to see you, Miss Valentine. If I can just find them . . ."

"Why don't you come with me and we'll look together?" Mai suggested.

Solomon perked up. "That sounds like a wonderful idea! Two pairs of eyes can look twice as well!" He ogled the purple convertible, also clearly excited to think of actually riding in something so luxurious.

Mai had to smile. "Well, then if you don't mind a fast ride, hop in!"

"Mind? I would love a fast ride!" Solomon's eyes gleamed as he got in the back seat. When Mai got in and sped off moments later, Solomon cheered. "Now this is an automobile!"

Mai was amused. Yugi's grandfather was certainly interesting.

xxxx

Yami Bakura had spent most of his life enraged and hateful. It wasn't new to him now. It was familiar, while the love Bakura had shown him had felt all but foreign after having not experienced any since age 6. He couldn't deny that the love felt so much better, but that was gone now, brutally stripped away by the Big Five's cruelty. An innocent life had been cut short, and he wasn't going to let any of those responsible get away with it.

It didn't take him long to see that he and Dark Necrofear were the only ones there. The scenery looked the same, but everyone else was gone. Had they all fallen to their deaths? That wouldn't even make sense. The Red Eyes Black Dragon should have been able to rescue them.

Still, he went to the cliff to look over the edge. Everything was quiet, eerily so. The wind blew his hair about, so peaceful, so calm, as though nothing was wrong. But he knew better. Nothing would ever be right again.

"We're all alone," he said to Dark Necrofear as she came up beside him. "They're all gone."

But that made very little sense. He wasn't their first target. Why would they kill everyone else off and leave him alive?

He turned away with a growl. "This can't be right. Are they trying to drive me out of my mind?" He paused, frowning. "Why would they put so much effort into torturing me? They killed Bakura. But all of the others, all at once?"

He looked around. "What if I'm the one dead? . . . No, that makes no sense either. Technically, I'm still dead; it's only this Ring that makes me mortal." He lifted it up and then let it thump back against his chest.

Dark Necrofear looked at the Ring. Blinking, he looked back down at it as well. "The Ring. . . . What if they want it? The thought crossed my mind earlier, but . . ."

"Yami?"

Yami Bakura started and looked up with a shot. "Bakura?!" His heart pounded. The voice was unmistakable. Was he hearing Bakura's spirit? He always had been attuned to other planes of existence; he had always felt the spirits of Kul Elna. It made sense that he would still be able to communicate with Bakura. "Bakura, where are you?!"

Dark Necrofear tensed. Something wasn't right. But Yami Bakura was, for the moment, too desperate to believe this real to question it.

The thief ran out ahead. "Bakura! Don't hide from me, blast it! Where are you?"

"Why, I'm right here, Yami." Bakura stepped out of thin air, smirking at him.

Yami Bakura rocked back. ". . . No, you're not." He snarled, his voice dark and filled with betrayal and rage. "How dare you. How _dare_ you!"

A very un-Bakura laugh echoed through the area. "I dare because it's what I do." "Bakura" morphed into a tall man with glasses. "I just wanted to see how you would react. Johnson's the name. You're currently in a special part of my section of the city."

Yami Bakura's eyes took on a hate-filled fire only few had ever seen. "And you're currently steps away from disaster. You have no hope of escape now."

"Then I presume you are taking me to court?" Johnson said, completely unaffected.

"I am taking you into a world of nightmares from which you will never emerge!" Yami Bakura snarled.

xxxx

Bakura was both furious and heartbroken as he watched on the screen in the mysterious room he was still trapped in. When he heard an odd sound and turned to see Gansley standing there, his normally soft eyes flashed. "What on Earth is the point of this?!" he demanded. "Why would such a cruel trick be played on Yami?!"

"Really, that's your first question?" Gansley quipped. "Not what you're doing here?"

"I know it can't be for any good reason," Bakura retorted. "Poor Yami!" He stormed over to his captor. "I thought Seto Kaiba was your target, and also the people who defeated you before. Why do you want to go after Yami and me?!"

"Hmm. If you can't figure it out, then I don't think I'm going to tell you," Gansley sneered.

"Well, I can tell you that you don't know who you're dealing with," Bakura snapped. "I think Johnson is going to be very sorry about what he did, very soon!"

"Hmm. That may be true, but he's not going to give up just because his opponent is a little aggressive," Gansley said.

"Oh, trust me, you don't know the meaning of aggressive until you've faced an angry Yami," Bakura said. "And right now, I say he has every right to be aggressive! Johnson probably deserves whatever Yami might do to him!"

"You're feeling quite aggressive right now yourself, aren't you?" Gansley said.

"I feel perfectly justified, too," Bakura said. "This is outrageous!"

"Well, let's watch and see what happens next," Gansley said.

"One thing I would definitely like to know," Bakura said. "Why is Yami alone? Why isn't he with the others?"

"He was teleported elsewhere, but thinks he wasn't," Gansley said. "And you can see he's not sure everyone else isn't dead. Just another example of Johnson's sadistic nature."

"You're all abominable," Bakura spat.

Somewhere in his mind it knew it wasn't like him to be so angry. But it also wasn't usual for him to encounter such horrible people. He always became furious when someone threatened his loved ones. Once, he had not considered Yami Bakura one of those people. Now that he did, however, he became enraged whenever his friend was targeted unfairly. He couldn't imagine why the Big Five was doing this.

"That may be so," Gansley said now, "but what does it really matter if we win in the end?"

"You can never truly win with cruelty," Bakura retorted.

"And I guess that's why your friend always lost in the past?" Gansley smoothly said. "Surely you can't deny that's how he dueled."

"He isn't like that anymore," Bakura said. "He was being poisoned with an evil force back then!"

His hand disappeared into his pocket. He still had the Change of Heart card that he had mysteriously picked up. If he used it, he could probably mind-control Gansley and escape to find Yami Bakura. But . . . to mind-control another person, even one of the Big Five . . . ! He could scarcely imagine doing such a thing, no matter how angry he was. Surely there was another solution.

"Naturally you find excuses for the people you love," Gansley said. "Everyone always does." He leaned on his cane and looked back to the screen. "But let's see how your Yami Bakura fares against Johnson's tactics."

Bakura swallowed hard. If Johnson dueled as cruelly as he performed in other areas, Yami Bakura was in for a struggle. But on the other hand, Johnson really didn't know what he was in for. Yami Bakura would not be forgiving about Johnson's little trick. And when he thought Bakura was dead, killed by Johnson, well . . . Johnson was in for Yami Bakura's brand of justice and vengeance. And Bakura honestly wasn't sure he wouldn't root for Yami Bakura to deal it out in this case, especially since the Big Five didn't have real bodies and Yami Bakura wouldn't be able to kill the man.

On the other hand . . . would Yami Bakura get in trouble for trying to take revenge even on someone without a real body?

 _Oh please no,_ Bakura prayed. _How could anyone feel good about someone who does what these people do? They do have to be stopped. Yami's suffering enough already. He loves me and he thinks I've been senselessly murdered. Please . . . he doesn't deserve to suffer more. He's been trying so hard to be good. But if he goes after Johnson for revenge, under the circumstances . . . well, I can't even say I think he's wrong. So if someone has to be punished, please punish me, not him!_

But that wasn't really a solution either. Bakura being hurt only hurt Yami Bakura more. That was the whole problem here.

 _Yami, I love you,_ he transmitted silently. _I'm alright. Please stay strong! I'll find a way to get back to you. But you need to be there for me when I come._

They had possessed a mental bond in the days when they had to share his body to co-exist. That had been defunct ever since Yami Bakura had gained his own body. And from the look in his eyes on the screen, it was still defunct. Bakura could only desperately pray that Yami Bakura would not be hurt further as he continued to look for a solution so he could escape.

xxxx

Duke's group was still frantically trying to escape the barrage of creatures chasing them. Duke's Crawling Dragon was going after them on the ground and blasting any Duel Monsters who got too close. In addition, Serenity had picked up a Lady Panther who stood on the Crawling Dragon's back and leaped up to whip attackers. When at last Duke drove into a parking garage guarded by a Thousand Dragon and a Harpie Lady, the rampaging Duel Monsters didn't try to follow.

"Do you think we've lost them?" Serenity hoped.

"Maybe," Duke frowned. "Or maybe they're just trying to find another way in. We shouldn't stay here."

"Ugh! This is ridiculous already!" Tristan cried in frustration. He opened one of the sacks and started eating a burger.

David decided that looked like a good idea. He started to eat too.

"It's strange we haven't found any of the others yet," Serenity worried. "I wish Joey hadn't gone off without me!"

"Then we'd be worrying about you in addition to them," Duke said.

"I would have insisted he bring you guys along too," Serenity said. She sighed. "What are we going to do now?"

"Keep looking," Duke said. "They have to be around here somewhere."

"And you realize we might end up having to fight Nesbitt again. . . ." Serenity stared at the sacks and finally took out a burger to slowly eat.

"I realize." Duke gave in and started to eat too. "I'm sure he'll set it up so we'll be the ones facing him, alright. These guys give whole new meaning to holding grudges."

"Well, I don't feel very good towards any of them," David said. "I wouldn't mind having a part in bringing them down."

Tristan frowned and looked to him. "Can you even duel?"

David smirked at him. "Why, yes, I can. I've just never shown off my mad skills before." He raised an eyebrow. "I think a better question would be, can you duel any better now than you did then?"

Tristan scowled. "Yeah, I can."

"But not by a whole lot," Duke said. "And you've never tested your supposed new skills out in a life-and-death situation before, Tristan. For that matter, neither have you, David." He frowned. "I'm still the most experienced Duelist out of this bunch, and last time, that wasn't enough to beat Nesbitt." Looking to Serenity, however, his expression softened and he smiled. "But you really gave it to him, Serenity."

"It was a group effort, Duke," Serenity insisted. "We all contributed something." She sighed. "But it ended in a draw and Nesbitt still insisted he'd won the right to take Tristan's body. Even with all the strength we were able to put together, we were lucky to be able to get St. Joan on the same power level as Nesbitt. If she could have been a little bit stronger, it wouldn't have been a draw and he couldn't have possibly claimed he'd won."

Duke nodded. "They don't play by the rules, that's for sure. And this time, their rules are death. It was bad enough in Noa's world. Now they're playing for keeps." And he had to admit, he wasn't sure what they were ever going to do. He didn't think their group was strong enough to soundly beat Nesbitt.

"I hope Mai's okay," Serenity said softly.

Duke did too. And part of him wished that she had stayed with them. She was more experienced than all of them put together and she would probably stand the best chance of winning. On the other hand, he frowned to himself, she usually lost when she played life-or-death duels. She wasn't used to dueling being used for that high of stakes. And right now, when she was suffering from a serious lack of confidence, it would be even worse.

What a crew.

". . . So, what kind of parking garage are we in?" David asked.

"I think it's for the mall," Duke said. "I guess there's no chance any of the others are in there."

"Probably not, but it looks like there's some Duel Monsters in there," David blinked.

They were facing the doors for one of the mall's flagship department stores. As they all watched, a Dark Magician Girl examined clothing and then magically tried several different pieces on, one after the other. A Dark Magician, meanwhile, wandered over near a hat display and tried on a fedora.

". . . Okay, this is getting too weird," Tristan proclaimed. "They're holograms. What the heck are they doing?!"

"I think a better question is, how does a hologram magically try on clothes?" Duke said flatly.

Serenity looked to him with a start. "Duke, you're not saying . . . !"

Duke massaged the bridge of his nose. "I don't know what I'm saying anymore, Serenity," he sighed. "But I have to admit, something's not adding up. Even if a hologram could try on clothes, we'd see them do it in every detail. Instead, this is like something off _Sabrina the Teenage Witch._ "

"You mean, she's really using magic to do it instantaneously," David said. Now his stomach dropped in his horror.

"As much as I'd like to say she isn't, I think she is," Duke said. "And that means she's not a hologram. I think the Big Five really screwed something up here. I think . . . ugh, it's going to sound crazy to say it, and a couple of years ago I never would have, but after everything we've been through, it's starting to sound completely logical to say that it looks like the Big Five may have tapped into the Duel Monsters' realm by accident. I think all the Duel Monsters wandering around town are real."

Serenity flinched and stared at him. "But that means they could really hurt people!" she cried.

"And it also means they might be able to help us in ways we never dreamed of," Duke said. He started to get out of the car. "If we could get those two on our side, it could be a big help later."

"So . . . we're going to go talk to those magicians?" David blinked.

Duke sighed. "Yeah, I think we are."


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes: Just a friendly reminder that I've always supported the localization in the dub. I set Domino City in Oregon.**

 **Chapter Ten**

Seto had been silent for a long time as they wandered through Domino Canyon in search of Johnson, Bakura, and Yami Bakura. There was no trace of the Bakuras, and Johnson was probably laying in wait, hoping that any moment they would stumble across him so he could torment them further.

At least they had picked up some more help. He had found a Battle Ox and Yugi, a Berfomet. They would be valuable in battle. And from the looks of things, Téa was discovering what looked like a Shining Friendship. Seto rolled his eyes. Hopefully she could find some power-ups for it.

The longer they looked without finding the Bakuras, the more Joey's enthusiasm and determination were waning. He had mostly stopped calling for them, and from his expression, he was starting to doubt they were okay.

Seto wasn't sure what he believed. He still felt Yami Bakura was likely alright; he could scarcely imagine that character being taken down so easily. But what if the Big Five were not after the Ring? If they weren't fully aware of its powers, maybe they wouldn't care if it was destroyed. On the other hand, regardless of what they were aware of, it didn't seem likely that it could be taken out of the picture very easily either.

Seto really had to wonder why it seemed that every time he had something good to contribute to the world, every force on Earth tried to find ways to stop him from bringing it forth. The Big Five, Gozaburo, Noa, Dartz, Siegfried, Yami Bakura, Marik. . . .

Strange too, how Marik had become so close to the family. Seto had certainly been leery of him at first. So had Mokuba. But once Mokuba had trusted him, Seto had slowly started to try to see him as Mokuba did. Saving them from the fire had clinched it, especially since that had just been a freak accident and not something Marik could have engineered, as he had the events surrounding him pretending to be a friend during Battle City.

And Yami Bakura. . . . Seto still didn't like or trust him. It surprised him a little that Joey and Tristan were feeling so much better about him. But considering the reasons why they had started to feel that way, maybe it wasn't so strange. Yami Bakura had done a lot to help during the recent misadventures, particularly how he had repeatedly risked himself to help Tristan and Marik. Seto had seen the still-healing scar in his side from the poisoned knife. Perhaps, if Yami Bakura risked himself to help Mokuba, Seto would begin to be willing to forgive him for the past.

Not that he wanted such a situation to arise. Mokuba had been targeted far too often already. But with the Big Five at large, Seto was constantly afraid he would be targeted again. It made a horrible sense.

Up ahead, Joey's shoulders slumped. "They're just not here," he said despondently. "Aurgh!" He messed up his hair.

"It's really so important to you to find that thief?" Seto said.

Joey looked to him with a start. "Of course it's important!" he snapped. "He's one of us now. Besides, even if he wasn't, we wouldn't want him to be layin' somewhere hurt!"

"Does he even want to be one of you?" Seto wondered.

"Eh. I don't know about that," Joey admitted. "But he is anyway!"

"Hmm," said Seto, and walked on.

Yugi looked to Atem. "What are we going to do, Atem? I think we're getting awfully close to Cooperstown. . . ."

Atem frowned, tense. Around his neck, the Infinity Puzzle was starting to blink off and on. "I'm sensing supernatural energies," he admitted. "Very restless and disturbed ones at that."

Berfomet growled.

"You know," Yugi remarked, "he has a lot of personality for a hologram. . . ."

"Naturally," Seto said. "That's how I designed all the Duel Monsters. And I'm sure the Big Five turned the free will option on, so they'll act even more real."

A chill breeze swept over the group as they moved forward. Up ahead, through the trees, the edge of an old town was visible.

Joey started to quake. "Oh no. It's really it! We're in Cooperstown! Let's turn around and go back."

"Even if our friends are here?" Atem returned.

Joey scowled. "They wouldn't be here! They couldn't be!" His shoulders slumped. "But yeah, we've gotta check."

"If that thief is here, he shouldn't have any problem with the place," Seto remarked. "He was bragging about knowing exactly what could be causing the town to appear as though people were here five minutes ago when they weren't."

"Just because he knows doesn't mean he could successfully fight it," Yugi said.

As they moved forward, a small wind-up toy came out from under a bush and walked up to Joey. When it hit his shoe, it stopped and fell over.

"Gah! It's starting already!" Joey wailed. "It's only gonna get worse from here!"

"That could have been a prank, Wheeler," Seto retorted. "One of the Big Five could have made that happen!"

"Perhaps, but people have reported such things happening in Cooperstown for years," Atem said.

Téa gulped. "What else happens?" she quavered.

"Oh . . . tables with piping hot food on them, music playing, lights coming on . . ." Yugi gulped. He had to admit, he was growing more uneasy the more he thought about everything he had heard about this bizarre ghost town through the years.

Marik jumped in surprise as Revival Jam wobbled frantically and then leaped into his arms. "Revival Jam is afraid," he realized.

"That really doesn't instill me with confidence," Joey whimpered. "What the heck could scare a plasma monster?! I thought those things really didn't have any personality!"

Now Revival Jam rocked back and forth in anger.

"Now you've insulted him!" Marik exclaimed.

"Okay, okay! Sorry!" Joey rolled his eyes.

"Let's not argue," Atem interjected. "We have to check the town for the others. Let's just do it." He headed forward in determination.

Joey gulped. "Aren't you even a little bit scared? Or at least intimidated?"

Atem paused. "After everything we've already been through? . . . I am, a bit. But I won't let that stop me."

"Me either!" Téa declared, marching forward.

The others hurried after them. "Hey, wait up!" Mokuba called.

The smell of delicious food soon got to Joey. He ran to the nearest window, practically plastering himself against it. "There's a whole kettle of some kinda stew on the stove!" he announced.

"So what?" Seto retorted. "Don't tell me you're foolish enough to try to eat it."

Joey scowled. ". . . No! It'd probably disappear the moment I'd try to take a bite!" He backed away from the window, reluctantly.

"Or worse, it might poison you," Marik frowned.

"It _is_ over a hundred years old," Téa remarked.

"Over a hundred years old?! Come on! It's fresh right now!" Joey snapped.

"Or at least it looks that way," Yugi said. "I wouldn't trust any food in this town, Joey."

Joey sighed, his shoulders slumping. "You're right, Yug. We can't chance it." He overdramatically trudged away.

"We'll get some real food when we get out of here," Marik said, patting Revival Jam as he advanced down the dirt road.

"Yeah, and when will that be?" Joey countered.

Téa looked around, suddenly even more tense. "Hey . . . isn't another of the rumors about this place that the people who wander in can get trapped and not be able to leave?"

"Obviously someone has to leave or there wouldn't be anyone to tell about the cooking stew and the ghostly wind-up toys," Seto said, sarcasm fairly dripping from his voice.

"Yeah, but what if some people just kind of disappear and never come back?" Mokuba worried.

". . . You know, I think I'd rather face some Zombie Duel Monsters than this town," Yugi remarked. "At least with Duel Monsters, you always know where you stand. With this place . . . who knows anything?"

"I sure don't," Joey moaned.

"I never thought you'd admit it, Wheeler," Seto smirked.

Joey stiffened. "Heeey! I never said I meant I didn't know anything in general!" He shook his fist at Seto.

"Guys, please," Yugi begged. "We have to focus here!"

Joey sighed. "Sorry, Yug. This place is giving me the creeps and I'm worried about the guys. You know?" He looked away. "I guess I just want to focus on something else."

The piercing ringing of the schoolhouse bell startled all of them.

"Maybe that's Bakura!" Téa hoped. "He could be locked in the bell tower and is trying to get our attention!"

No one really believed that. But still, they had to grasp on to any bit of hope. They all ran for the schoolhouse, trying to ignore the gently moving tire swing out front and the open books and ink wells on every desk inside. But it was impossible to ignore.

"Come on! This is seriously messed up!" Joey cried. "So kids disappeared along with the rest of the town?!"

"The rumor has it that the whole town was cursed for their attitudes towards the local Native American tribes and a visiting voodoo priestess," Yugi said. "I was never sure if I really believed it, but . . ." He bit his lip. "It's starting to look like it could really be true."

Marik hurried ahead of the rest of them and up the stairs to the bell tower. The bell was still ringing; everyone had to shout to be heard. But the instant Marik reached the top of the stairs, it stopped. He stood, staring in disbelief at the rope for the bell. It was still vaguely moving back and forth, as though whoever had been ringing it had just up and run away now, but the room was empty.

"Marik?" Mokuba called. "Is Bakura up here? Or Yami Bakura?"

"No one is here," Marik told him, and he had to admit to a shiver running down his spine as he stepped aside for everyone to see.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Joey burst out. "Who was ringing the bell?! It was loud enough to wake the dead!"

"Do you have to phrase it like that?" Téa groaned.

Yugi stared at the rope. "Guys, I think we need to get out of here right now. Our friends aren't here. I'm sure of it! And I'm not even sure the Big Five have anything to do with this town. We haven't seen one Duel Monster except the ones we brought, and they're all scared! Berfomet won't even come up here!"

"And Shining Friendship won't get off my shoulder," Téa said.

"Red Eyes is just flying around and won't come down," Joey said.

Seto had to admit that Battle Ox was very tense. He had come, but he looked ready to swing his axe at anything that moved.

Revival Jam wobbled in Marik's arms.

"I'm afraid you're right, Yugi," Atem said. "We should all leave now, while we still can." He turned to lead everyone back out of the schoolhouse.

"What I'm wondering is if we can," Joey shuddered. "What if it's already too late?!"

"Please don't say things like that," Téa begged. "It can't be too late!"

xxxx

Johnson didn't seem at all intimidated by Yami Bakura's outburst. "I see," he said, completely calm. "You're going to send me into a world of nightmares? What evidence do you have to present for your threat? We are in a world the Big Five controls. What can you even do to come out on top?"

"I won't present all my 'evidence' at once," Yami Bakura said. "But if you think to intimidate me with that little detail, you are wrong. You and all of your colleagues will pay for what has happened!"

"I would like to see you try," Johnson said, pushing up his glasses. "Proceed."

"We shall play a game with high stakes," Yami Bakura said. "If I win, your power will be automatically destroyed and your section of the city will return to normal. You will not be able to take control of it again. If you win, I shall remain here, not a threat, until someone else defeats you. And if you try to cheat and go back on the terms, my Infinity Ring will punish you." It was a daring move, really. He had no idea if the Ring would obey him. But when it was supposed to be used for good, he couldn't think it would disobey. Bringing any of the Big Five down would certainly be good.

"Hmm." Johnson appeared to be thoughtfully considering the challenge. "Well, since you have no hope of winning, I agree. Only if I win, I will claim your Infinity Ring to ensure you won't be a threat. That, I believe, will render you a wandering spirit once again."

"We'll just see about that," Yami Bakura snarled. He was enraged, but trying to keep himself in check. He had to have a clear mind in order to bring Johnson down, after all, and he was fully determined to bring Johnson down. The man had killed or arranged the killing of Bakura in cold blood, and then had dared to mock the boy's innocence by pretending to be him. Yami Bakura wouldn't stand for it. And now that the Ring had been put up as part of the stakes, he certainly couldn't afford any missteps. He had lost to Yami Marik on the Battle Ship. He could not lose to Bakura's murderer.

As the duel got underway, Johnson tried using many of the tricks he had used against Joey, which Yami Bakura remembered from his shadow's witnessing of the duel in the Millennium Puzzle. Yami Bakura's temper was being stretched to its limit. Whenever he managed to get in a good trick of his own via his network of traps and effect monsters, he was coolly pleased. And disabling some of Johnson's most powerful continuous spells and traps was certainly a triumph. Johnson would not be using Leading Question or Sinister Justice on him. Johnson, however, was only very briefly disturbed by this.

"I must congratulate you," he smoothly said. "You beat two cards Joseph could not. But tell me, would you be so fired up to beat me if someone else had perished? Joseph or Tristan, perhaps?"

Yami Bakura growled. No, he couldn't say he would have been. He wasn't a bleeding heart protector like Atem. But . . . on the other hand . . . if any of the others had died, he would have known it could have been Bakura and still could be, and that would have fired him up to beat Johnson.

After all, when it came to Bakura, he was indeed a bleeding heart protector.

. . . And, even though he wasn't close to the others, he still would have been angry for them to be so senselessly killed. It was a strange epiphany, especially after their troubled past, but as soon as the thought came to him, he knew it was true. Now that he was not poisoned by Zorc, he was, ever so slowly, coming to care about them.

"I don't know why you care so much about that boy anyway," Johnson went on. "You were once a very formidable antagonist, but now you've gone soft."

"Oh, you think so, do you?" Yami Bakura's visage twisted. "I am still formidable, and you will regret incurring my wrath!"

"What is it you fight for, exactly?" Johnson wondered, unknowingly voicing some of Yami Bakura's current thoughts. "Surely you're not like the Pharaoh Atem, fighting for justice and the protection of others."

"Right now I am fighting to avenge the innocent life you deliberately destroyed, and that is good enough," Yami Bakura retorted. "But defeating you would be justice."

"You have no guarantee that you'll even get what you want if you win," Johnson said.

"I'm quite sure you'll try to find a loophole," Yami Bakura said. "But I am equally sure that you will fail!"

The Infinity Ring glowed in response to that statement.

"I see," said Johnson. "So you plan to use the Infinity Ring to enforce your terms if you win. Do you honestly believe an item of magic could overpower a world of technology?"

"If it could, Domino City would be normal by now," Yami Bakura said. "But I know the Ring can go after you. You may be using a body generated by technology, but underneath it you are still a wandering spirit."

"Guilty as charged," Johnson said. "However, I have hardly used all of my tricks yet. You may still lose this case."

Yami Bakura growled. "No matter whether I win or lose, you will lose as well. If you manage to take the Ring from me, it will not obey you. You will try to use it for ill purposes and it will turn against you. You will be the one incinerated!"

"An interesting defense," Johnson said. "Let us proceed and see who is right."

"By all means," Yami Bakura said, his voice dripping dangerously with warnings and hatred.

xxxx

Both Dark Magicians looked up as the group came through the doors and approached them. "Hello," said the Dark Magician.

"Hi!" chirped the Dark Magician Girl.

"Uh, hi," Duke greeted. Trying not to think about how surreal and weird this was, he said, "We were wondering if you guys could help us."

"With what?" the Dark Magician asked.

"With beating the creeps who've taken over the city!" Tristan blurted.

"Please," Serenity begged. "Our family and friends are caught up in this and they might be hurt. We don't know where to look for them, and when we try, evil Duel Monsters attack us!"

The Dark Magician perked up. "Of course we'll help you," he said. He set the fedora aside and grabbed his usual head covering.

"But can we come back to the market after we're done?" the Dark Magician Girl wondered. "I've never seen such a large shop!"

"Uh . . ." Duke looked to David. He was still afraid that the Big Five had accidentally opened a rift and connected their dimension with the Duel Monsters', but did that mean the Duel Monsters would linger after all the Big Five members were defeated?

"We'll talk about it after the bad guys are stopped," David said.

The Dark Magician Girl seemed to accept that answer. "Okay!" She waved her staff and transformed back to her blue and pink clothes.

"I wonder what the deal is with the Duel Monsters, if these guys are real," David hissed to Duke as they all walked back outside to the car. "I mean, is there just one of each kind of Duel Monster, or are there a whole bunch of the same kind?"

"You're asking me?" Duke twirled his hair around his finger. "All I really know is that the original Dark Magician was one of the Pharaoh's servants. This one here doesn't exactly act like a Pharaoh's servant. He hasn't even asked about Atem. If I had to guess, I'd say that there's one real Duel Monster for every card of them that exists, or something."

". . . That would be a lot of Duel Monsters," David said.

"No kidding," said Duke.

"But would that mean there's only four Blue Eyes White Dragons?" David mused.

"Honestly, I don't know and I don't care," Duke said. He climbed into the car. "Everyone, get in!"

"Oh, so this is a mechanical carriage," the Dark Magician commented as he got in the back with the Dark Magician Girl. "We see them every now and then."

"Uh . . . where?" Tristan finally had to ask.

"In our world," the Dark Magician Girl cheerfully answered.

"The Duel Monsters world must be a really interesting mix of past and present," Serenity said. "There's cards based on old cultures and modern ones."

"You could come and visit sometime, if you want," the Dark Magician Girl offered.

"Thanks," Duke said. "We'll have to see." He started to drive around the parking garage in search of the exit. "We have a Crawling Dragon and a Lady Panther guarding one of the ways out. They're friendly, but there's other Duel Monsters that chased us all the way in here. There may still be some of them waiting outside."

"We'll be ready," the Dark Magician said.

"So, how did you cross over to here anyway?" Tristan asked.

"This strange portal opened up and we started going through," the Dark Magician said. "It's probably still open."

"Then I was right," Duke frowned. Louder he said, "Are the Legendary Knights still around in your world?"

"Of course," the Dark Magician said in surprise. "They serve our cousin, who rules the land."

"You mean another Dark Magician Girl," Duke supplied.

"Yes," the Dark Magician Girl smiled.

"That must be some family tree," David said.

"It sounds like the Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny situation on _Pokemon_ ," Duke remarked.

Now they were approaching the exit. The Crawling Dragon roared, seeing them coming, and stepped aside. The Lady Panther also roared in greeting.

"Well, they don't seem upset," David said. "I think. I guess we can take that as a good sign?"

Indeed, the skies seemed free of enemy Duel Monsters as they came out from the parking garage. The Magicians, however, remained tense and on the alert.

"Maybe they gave up and went home," Serenity hoped. "Let's concentrate on trying to find our friends!"

"Negative. First you will have to face me."

Everyone jumped a horrified mile.

"Oh no!" Duke gasped. "Nesbitt!"

The man who stepped out in front of the car was only vaguely familiar, but the voice was instantly recognizable and could never be forgotten. It was most certainly Nesbitt.

Tristan snarled. "You're gonna pay for what you did to me in Noa's world, you creep!" He stood in the car, shaking his fist at the loathed enemy.

"Does that mean you intend to duel me again?" Nesbitt returned. "Didn't you have enough punishment the first time?"

"My game's improved a lot since then," Tristan said. "You bet I'm dueling you again!"

"What's going on?" the Dark Magician blinked. "We're stopping for a duel?"

"This is one of the five creeps who caused all the bad Duel Monsters to come after us," Duke said. "If we stop him, some of their power will be crushed."

"Then we're in," the Dark Magician promised.

"So . . . who's dueling?" David wondered.

"You volunteered, as I recall," Nesbitt said.

David stared at him. "You heard that?!"

"Affirmative. We're watching all of you." Nesbitt took out his Duel Disk and deck. "I have no qualms of dueling multiple people at once. It shall be four against one."

"That sounds seriously unbalanced to me," David said.

"Except that we barely won last time," Serenity said softly.

"Then maybe four will give us more of an edge," Tristan said. "And our new Magician friends."

Duke was not pleased. He still didn't want Serenity or David put in danger. Or Tristan. The stakes had been bad enough the first time around. Now it was far worse. "And the loser dies?" he said coldly.

"If it's any of you," Nesbitt said. "You will each have a separate lifepoint counter, as before. Anyone whose lifepoints drop to zero will die. Of course, if I lose, I will merely be defeated. I can't be killed when I'm not using a real body."

"Well, bring it on," Tristan said. "Things are gonna be different this time, Nesbitt. None of us are going to die."

"We shall see," Nesbitt replied.

Overhead, above the bubble, thunder boomed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes: David is a canon character, Duke's store manager from episode #46. He is canonically unnamed; I named him. But the eerie thing is, there's a character in Duel Links who looks almost exactly like him except for not wearing glasses, and his name really is David! Naturally, I headcanon that they're the same person. He just decided to wear contacts in Duel Links!**

 **Chapter Eleven**

Ishizu and Rishid were both growing highly tense. It had been sometime since Marik had called them, and now they could not call him or anyone else.

"The Big Five must have decided that it was foolish to allow their victims to communicate with each other," Rishid said.

"Yes . . . or they're all hurt," Ishizu feared.

"Marik did not even have anything to do with the Big Five on either of the previous occasions where they caused trouble," Rishid said. "They should not want anything to do with him."

"But we know they will," Ishizu said. "They went after everyone in Noa Kaiba's virtual world, even people who hadn't been responsible for trapping them the first time. Marik will be steadfastly fighting against them, so they will no doubt wish to rid themselves of him."

Rishid bowed his head. He knew Ishizu was right, but he didn't want to believe it. "We should go look for him," he said. "It's highly unlikely that the Big Five will be interested in this tablet."

"On the contrary," came a gruff and gravelly voice.

The siblings started and looked up. "Who are you?" Ishizu demanded of a stocky man with a mustache who had suddenly appeared in the room.

"Adrian Randolph Crump III," was the smirking reply, "and you're looking lovely today, my dear."

Ishizu gave him a frosty look. "Thank you. But what is the meaning of this?!"

"I'm going to stay here and inspect this tablet to see if there's any information here the Big Five can use," Crump said. "And just in case you two have any ideas about escaping, my penguin army will take care of that."

Ishizu quirked an eyebrow. "Penguin army?"

Both she and Rishid stared as multiple Nightmare Penguins, Flying Penguins, Penguin Knights, and other penguin Duel Monsters waddled in after Crump. Some stood guard at the door, while others surrounded Crump and the tablet. From Rishid's expression, he could scarcely believe that they were actually being overpowered by little flightless birds, Duel Monsters or not.

"There! So you see," Crump laughed, "neither of you will be getting out of here any time soon."

Despite her anger, Ishizu restrained herself and very coolly said, "Perhaps." She had no intention of being bested by one of the Big Five and his penguins, and she knew Rishid didn't either. But they would need to bide their time and carefully plan their method of attack and escape.

Crump walked over to the tablet and studied it. Although he looked thoughtful, he was really quite confused. "Come over here and help me understand this," he barked.

Ishizu didn't move. "It's quite straightforward," she told him. "The man wielding the Infinity Ring is about to fight that monster."

"Yeah, yeah, I can see that," Crump retorted. "But how is he going to fight it?! What kind of power does that little Ring have?"

"That," Ishizu said, "is something we all wonder."

She exchanged a worried look with Rishid. While they were trapped, they would have to pray that Marik and the others were safe. And that Crump wouldn't learn anything the Big Five shouldn't know.

xxxx

Mai and Solomon were making quite an interesting team. Solomon had acquired a Curse of Dragon and it and Mai's Baby Dragon were flying over the car, patrolling for trouble. But Yugi was still unreachable by phone, something that was worrying Solomon more and more.

"I was able to talk with him at first," he exclaimed to Mai. "Something terrible may have happened!"

"They're probably just out of range," Mai said. "Or the Big Five realized it was just plain stupid to allow everyone to communicate over the phone and jammed the lines."

"Or all of the above," Solomon retorted. "You know how Yugi and the others are, always getting into trouble."

"Believe me, I know," Mai said. _And everyone around them gets dragged into it with them,_ she silently added. Although this was actually the first time that had happened to her; she had chosen to become involved in the previous misadventures. Of course, she hadn't known what she was getting into either time until it was too late.

"Hey! Mai!"

She looked up again, with a start. Valon was riding towards them on his motorcycle. Raphael and Alister were following in their blue sedan.

Quickly she pulled over to the side. "Have you had any luck?" she asked.

"Not really," Valon said.

Mai sighed, leaning on the top of the door. "Well, at least I know who's behind this," she said. "Some corporate sleazeballs who tortured me and a lot of the others before. I ran into Duke, Tristan, Serenity, and David and they told me. But I don't know where they or Joey or anyone else is right now."

"And I'm getting worried," Solomon said.

"Well, we'll keep looking," Valon promised. "We wanna find out where everybody is too. Not to mention that we don't take kindly to being caught up in these corporate creeps' world just because they've got some grudge against somebody else."

Mai smirked a bit. "I'm sure. It's definitely not a nice feeling. Of course, in this case I feel like it's my problem for more reasons than one. The people they're targeting are my friends."

"Yeah." Valon sighed, leaning on the motorcycle's handlebars. "We're not really close or anything, but none of us wanna see the others get hurt either." He started at the huge shadows overhead. "What the . . . ?!"

Solomon grinned. "You like them?"

Valon stared at the dragons. "Sure, if they're on our side."

"They are," Mai smiled. "You remember my Baby Dragon, I'm sure."

"Oh yeah." Valon kept staring.

"So, haven't you boys found any friends yet?" Mai asked.

"Sure we have," Valon replied. "Here he comes now."

Everyone looked as a Marauding Captain ran up to the scene, sword bared. "I haven't found any trace of them yet," he told Valon.

"That's alright, Mate," Valon told him. "We're about to shove off and try again. Hey." He looked to Mai. "Why don't we travel together this time?"

Mai hesitated. "But . . . what about Raphael and Alister?"

"They admitted that to be fair, they need to give you another chance," Valon said. "It's okay, Mai."

Mai still wasn't sure she was convinced. She looked in her rear-view mirror. Raphael and Alister looked back. Raphael gave a slow nod, while Alister lowered his sunglasses partway.

"We could certainly use some help," Solomon said.

Finally Mai nodded. "Okay." She smiled. "Let's go."

Valon grinned widely. "Alright!" He revved his motorcycle and sped off down the street.

Shaking her head, and still smiling, Mai started her engine and headed off after him. The blue sedan followed her.

"The more the merrier," Solomon smiled.

"Yeah," Mai mused. "You're right." Her heart swelled. Even if she still doubted she deserved it, it still felt good to know people were willing to give her another chance.

xxxx

Everyone was tense in the duel with Nesbitt. Duke and Tristan had both had bad luck draws, while Serenity could only place a weak monster on the field in Defense mode. That left David, who studied his cards very carefully before also laying one down in Defense mode.

Nesbitt couldn't have been more pleased. "Ha! As before, none of you are any match for me!" he crowed. "And I will start my turn by showing the two Golden Ladybugs in my hand. They will grant me an extra 1000 lifepoints! While I prefer Machine cards, I can't deny that the effect of Golden Ladybug makes it a highly useful card to have in my improved deck."

"Not to mention that since it's made out of metal, it still kind of fits your theme," Duke muttered.

"Next, I will activate an old nemesis. I'm sure you remember Giga-Tech Wolf." Nesbitt placed the Machine card on the field.

"How could we forget?" Tristan scowled.

"I could attack you or Mr. Devlin, since neither of you managed to summon a monster, but I think I want to destroy the newcomer's monster instead," Nesbitt continued. "Giga-Tech Wolf, attack Mr. Tanaka's face-down card!"

Duke recoiled. "David . . . !"

But David just smirked. "I was hoping you'd do that." His card flipped up. "My Fire Charmer has more Defense points than your wolf has Attack points. Not to mention it has a special ability. The reason why it's called a charmer is because when it's flipped up, it can hypnotize any monster of the same attribute as it into joining its side. So your Giga-Tech Wolf is now mine."

Nesbitt went stiff as his wolf went to stand beside the Fire Charmer. "What?!" Even though his body wasn't mortal, right now he looked very close to going purple.

"And it won't just be till the end of the turn," David continued. "It's for keeps. Well, until you destroy it or I decide to Tribute it, that is."

"No!" Nesbitt boomed.

Duke laughed. "Alright! That was a really lucky draw!"

David adjusted his glasses. "My deck is full of surprises."

Serenity beamed. "We've all got some surprises in store. Nesbitt, I think this time you're in for a really different duel!"

Nesbitt scowled at her. "Don't think just because you made one good move that it seals the duel for you. I have plenty of tricks in store."

"But it looks like you're still using your same old Machine monsters," Tristan said. "We know your strategies by now, Nesbitt, and we're ready for them." He drew a card and smirked. "So bring it on."

Nesbitt clenched his teeth. "I have no further moves until it's my turn again. Just go."

"I activate Polymerization," Tristan said. "Super Roboyaru!" He grinned as the monster appeared on the field. "One of my personal favorites." He delivered a direct attack to Nesbitt. "And oh, did that feel good!"

Nesbitt stumbled back, cursing under his breath. "There's still a long way to go before you defeat me," he vowed.

Duke laid a card facedown. "This should be useful later."

"We're still ready to help too," the Dark Magician interjected.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Duke blinked. "Since you're already here, do we still need to Tribute monsters to get you guys on the field?"

"I think so," the Dark Magician said.

"We'll call on you if we need your help," Tristan said. "Which I'm sure we will."

Serenity placed another monster facedown. Hopefully, she thought, Nesbitt would leave her alone long enough to assemble her new Fusion monster.

David smirked. "I'll place another card facedown and deliver two direct attacks, courtesy of my Fire Charmer and your own traitorous Giga-Tech Wolf. And that ends my turn."

"This is perfect!" Tristan cheered. "We've already knocked his lifepoints down more than halfway!"

"Don't get too confident," Duke warned. "We've seen plenty of incredible comebacks when lifepoints are lower than Nesbitt's are right now."

"Spoilsport," Tristan retorted, even though he knew Duke was right.

Nesbitt drew and then sneered. "I've drawn Pot of Greed," he announced. "Now I can draw two more cards." This he did, and then quickly laid one of them on the field. "I will also claim another 1000 lifepoints by showing my Golden Ladybugs again. And speaking of old nemeses, I have a card here that I know none of you will want to see again. Robotic Knight!"

Indeed, Duke, Tristan, and Serenity all cringed.

"I knew he'd be bringing that out if he could," Duke groaned.

"So we'll beat it," Tristan snapped.

Serenity looked over worriedly. "But . . . nothing on the field is as powerful as it is right now!" she exclaimed.

"Don't be so sure," Tristan smiled.

Nesbitt was not impressed. "Foolish boy! Don't you think I've researched how all Machine cards work? I know that if I try attacking your Super Roboyaru, its attack power will automatically increase by 1000. Therefore, I will make another one of you my target. And since you have already insulted me, Mr. Tanaka, I choose to attack your facedown card!"

"Wait a minute," Duke interjected. "I play my facedown card! Wall of Disruption! Your Robotic Knight loses 800 attack points!"

"No!" Nesbitt wailed. 700 of his lifepoints vanished as Robotic Knight's attack failed to go through.

David smiled as his new card flipped up. "Dukey-Boy told me all about your duel against him, Serenity, and Tristan," he said. "I was also sure you'd play a Robotic Knight if you could. So, just in case, I played my Light Charmer. Now your Light attribute Robotic Knight is also under my control."

Nesbitt just fell back and stared. "No . . . this can't be real," he gasped.

"I guess Tristan was right about this being a whole new game," Duke smirked. "Unless you have an incredible facedown card, Nesbitt, you're going to be wiped out on our turns. You only have 2100 lifepoints left!"

"It just so happens that my facedown card is Gift of the Mystical Elf," Nesbitt replied. "It grants me 300 lifepoints for every monster on the field."

"Oh no!" Tristan moaned. "Now he's up to 4200 lifepoints!"

"Don't worry, Tristan," Duke retorted. "All of the monsters we currently have in attack position will still more than wipe him out! And if Serenity plays hers too, we'll have even more firepower!"

Serenity beamed. "I will definitely be playing mine! Or maybe I'll Tribute them to get Dark Magician on the field!"

"I could Tribute one of Nesbitt's to bring out Dark Magician Girl," David smirked.

Now Nesbitt looked pale. "This just isn't possible! I beat most of you brats before! What's different now?!"

"Lady Luck is on our side," Duke said. "And we have some different cards. Not to mention you challenged one extra Duelist this time around." He flipped his hair. "You weren't expecting David to actually have a working strategy, were you?"

Nesbitt's expression twisted in his rage. "This isn't the end. I won't go down like this!" And he vanished.

The group was left staring at the blank space in disbelief.

"I . . . think he just surrendered?" David finally offered.

"That big coward!" Tristan snarled. "He wasn't even willing to go down like a man!"

"He probably disappeared to plan more misery for us," Duke said. "Even though it looks like we've won, we have to be careful. Something new could go wrong for us at any time."

"We'll stay alert," the Dark Magician promised. "But maybe now we should get back to looking for your friends?"

Duke snapped to. "Yeah, good idea." He headed for the car. "Let's try this again."

Everyone got back inside and Duke started the engine. As he drove off, he couldn't deny the feeling that they were all being watched.

xxxx

Yami Bakura's duel had also been going quite well. He had managed to trick Johnson into destroying three Fiend type monsters, allowing him to summon Dark Necrofear to the field. She then attacked, one by one, all of the cards he had on the field. On the turn when she destroyed his last defense, Johnson fell back in horror.

"No! I can't lose this duel!" he cried. "I won't lose to another of these people!"

"And just what can you do about it?" Yami Bakura mocked. "Unless you can draw something valuable on your next turn, Dark Necrofear will attack you directly. Even with the power-ups I've given her, she won't bring you down to zero since you've been increasing your lifepoints all duel. But I'm not worried."

Johnson drew, and stared at his card. It wouldn't help him in this situation. He looked back up at Yami Bakura, eager and waiting to attack. Then, giving him a cruel smile, Johnson adjusted his tie. "I do have one trump card left."

"Oh? And what's that?" Yami Bakura retorted.

To his sickened horror, Johnson once again changed his appearance to that of Bakura. "Can you directly attack the boy you love so much?"

Yami Bakura stared at him for a long moment, clenching his fist tight enough to draw blood.

"You can't, can you?" Johnson said. Now he was imitating Bakura's voice as well. "Yami . . ."

And Yami Bakura snapped. "No, I couldn't attack him," he snarled. "But since you are not him, I won't have any problem at all!" His voice boomed off the nearby mountain. "You are desecrating his memory with your trick! Now you will pay for what you have done! You murdered that innocent boy and I won't have it! Dark Necrofear, attack!"

Dark Necrofear lunged, swinging the Lucky Iron Axe that she was still equipped with. As Johnson yelped in shock and surprise, the Duel Monster attacked him directly. He switched back to his own appearance, half-stunned into it by the attack.

"And now, thanks to the Berserker Soul I drew on my last turn, I will keep drawing cards, attacking you every time I draw a monster," Yami Bakura sneered. "I saw the Pharaoh do this once. It seemed like such a good idea that I decided I would also do it, if the time was right. I can't think of a better one."

"But that's only supposed to work if your monster has 1500 attack points or less," Johnson protested.

Yami Bakura held up a card. "And I have just the card to correct that little problem. Thanks to both power-ups Dark Necrofear currently has, this Shrink card will cut her attack power down to exactly 1500."

"No!" Johnson took a step back in horror.

Yami Bakura pulled one card. "The Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams. Dark Necrofear, attack him again!"

She did. Johnson flew backwards to the ground with a scream.

Yami Bakura drew again. "Earthbound Spirit. Dark Necrofear, show him no mercy!"

Another attack. Now Johnson's lifepoints were at zero, but Yami Bakura wasn't about to stop.

"You're terribly unlucky today, aren't you?" he grinned. "I've drawn Hysteric Angel."

Dark Necrofear hesitated now. Another attack was not needed; Johnson was already defeated. Due to the terms of their duel, his made-up world was flashing and vanishing around them, freeing his section of the city from the Big Five's control. He would not be going anywhere else to start new chaos. He was shuddering, cowering on the ground and staring up at the sky. But he did deserve to suffer, and she had to obey Yami Bakura's orders. She attacked again.

"The Man-Eater Bug!" Yami Bakura exclaimed. "Bakura's blood cries out for vengeance, and I will deliver! Dark Necrofear, go!"

Again she attacked, but the hesitation was even longer this time. Now Johnson threw his arms up over his face.

"I wonder if Bakura looked and felt like you before you killed him," Yami Bakura said. "Lady of Faith! I also wonder where all my magic and trap cards are right now. Not that I'm complaining!"

Dark Necrofear swung her magic axe. Johnson flinched, hard. "Stop," he begged. "Please. . . ."

"Please?!" Yami Bakura mocked. "Isn't it pathetic, how someone like you kills without a second thought, yet turns into a sniveling coward when your own safety is at stake?" He drew his sixth card, and couldn't help starting to laugh. "Ancient Elf!"

Dark Necrofear hesitated again.

"What are you waiting for?!" Yami Bakura demanded. "Attack him!"

She did.

Johnson rolled onto his side. "I'm begging you to stop," he quavered.

"Never," Yami Bakura cackled. "The Electric Lizard! I would say the cards agree with me that vengeance and justice will be served! Keep cowering and groveling! It only proves how pathetic you truly are, and how deserving of feeling pain!" He reached out, spreading his fingers and then clenching them into a fist. "If I could repay you a hundredfold for what you did to Bakura, it still wouldn't be anywhere enough!"

Dark Necrofear turned to look at him. His eyes were wild, filled with hate and sadism. His rage was completely justified, and yet . . .

 _Master . . . I don't want to see you like this._

She dropped the axe. It clattered on the pavement, startling both Yami Bakura and Johnson.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Yami Bakura spat.

She walked back over to him and took his hands, silently holding them between hers.

Yami Bakura stared at her, stunned into silence by her actions. She was a Duel Monster of bitterness and hatred, cruelly experimented on until her humanity was all but gone. Yet now, she wanted him to stop?

Bakura would want him to stop too, no matter how much Johnson deserved this. . . .

The memory of Bakura desperately pushing him out of the way of the explosion erupted through his mind.

" _Yami! You're going to have your second chance! I promise you!"_

The words shot into his heart like an arrow. Bakura still believed in him so much. He had given his life to protect Yami Bakura. It would break Bakura's heart to see him so crazed now.

He looked back at Johnson. Pitiful, pathetic mess of what was once a human being. Had Johnson ever cared about people? Even before he had been rendered a wandering spirit, he had manipulated people's lives for his own selfish desires. And after Zorc had poisoned Yami Bakura, so had he. In ancient Egypt Yami Bakura had fought for justice, even though he had been misguided and had mostly gone after the guiltless. But this time he knew he had the right target. Johnson deserved every attack Yami Bakura had launched, and more. But even so, all the attacks in the world wouldn't bring Bakura back. And under their current circumstances, Yami Bakura couldn't really do much damage to Johnson anyway. Each assault brought momentary pain, but Johnson was little more than a solid hologram and it didn't last. And it was unlikely that he regretted his abomination. Yami Bakura clenched a fist and turned away.

"Bakura . . ." he whispered. "It's all pointless, isn't it? It won't bring you back. And maybe now you'll be afraid of me, as you were when I first attacked the White Death. I . . . don't know if I could stand that outcome. I braced myself for it in the past, but then you felt differently because I was trying to protect you. Now you're not here to protect. Do you still feel as you did then? Can you? Or do you see me for what I am—a tired old madman who can't and won't forgive your murderer? I wonder . . . if I took the Ring off, would I be able to see you again? Talk to you?"

His hand drifted to the cord, then fell away. Bakura had sacrificed himself to keep Yami Bakura alive. He had to honor that, somehow, even though right now the anguish and the loneliness were crippling. It had been crushing to lose his loved ones the first time. To have it happen again and be all alone once more . . . well, he really wasn't sure he could handle it at all. He felt like a helpless child again, truly broken.

Johnson stirred, slowly focusing on the scene. Seeing the fallen axe, he quietly reached out for it. Physical assaults were Nesbitt's specialty, but this case was made to order. He got to his feet, lunging as he planned to bury the weapon in Yami Bakura's back. Even if it didn't deliver the wounds of a real axe, especially to a real person and not a solid hologram as Johnson currently was, the sudden pain would be real enough to shock Yami Bakura's body, possibly fatally. Then Johnson could take the Ring.

He never had the chance. Dark Necrofear got in the way, shooting him down again with her Doom Gaze attack.

Yami Bakura looked up with a start as Johnson fell. The axe again clattered to the ground, where this time it was picked up by Dark Necrofear. "What . . ."

Dark Necrofear stood in front of him and drew him close to her in an embrace. He started, stunned, but then closed his eyes and allowed it. No matter how he tried to insist she was only a computer program, he could no longer believe that. She was real, and her caring for him was real. And right now, love and caring were what he so desperately needed.

xxxx

Bakura fell to his knees in tears. He had seen the whole thing on the screen in the room where he was still held prisoner. But he wasn't disgusted or disappointed in his friend. He wasn't afraid or heartbroken to see Yami Bakura backslide. He was instead heartbroken that Yami Bakura had been deliberately pushed to his breaking point.

"This is so cruel!" he spat. "Doing this to Yami on purpose to make him lose control of himself!"

"Yes, but unfortunately he didn't tap into the powers of the Infinity Ring," Gansley said.

Bakura looked up with a start. "That was what this was about?!" he cried. "You were trying to make the Ring kill him, weren't you?!"

"Of course," Gansley sneered.

"Oh Yami . . ." Bakura reached out a shaking hand, running it over the image on the screen of the heartbroken Yami Bakura being held close by Dark Necrofear. "I'm so sorry, Yami. You're in so much pain because of me. . . ."

"Because he was foolish enough to open his heart again," Gansley mocked.

That was the last straw; Bakura's patience snapped. He got to his feet, his eyes flashing with a cold and determined anger. "It took a great deal of courage for Yami to love again. I won't have you using that against him. I won't!"

"Oh? And just what are you going to do about it?" Gansley asked.

"I'm going to stop you," Bakura said. "And then I'm going to Yami."

"You're going to stop me?" Gansley snorted. "How?"

"With this." Bakura reached into his pocket and pulled out the card he had found just after the explosion. "The Change of Heart."

"What?" Gansley scoffed. "That's not going to . . ." But his eyes went blank.

"Now," Bakura said calmly, "you are going to unlock the door and let me go free. You will not come after me, nor will you send any of the others after me. You will also stop tormenting Yami and all of my friends."

"Yes," Gansley said, his voice as empty as his eyes. "I understand."

"Good." And with that, Bakura marched out the door. He wasn't stopped.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Yugi and his group were trying not to panic as they made their way out of the schoolhouse and through the disturbing ghost town. When the bell started ringing again, they looked at each other in horror. Many of them bolted, running as fast as they could to get away.

Joey was one of the fastest. As he tore out of the town limits, he stumbled to a halt in surprised shock at the sight that greeted him. "Hey! Yami Bakura?! What the heck?! Where did you come from?!"

Yami Bakura, still held in Dark Necrofear's comforting embrace, looked up with a start. "Where did _I_ come from?!" he retorted, relief and confusion flashing through his eyes. "Where did _you_ come from?!"

"From back there!" Joey pointed over his shoulder. "At the creepiest of all spots around town—Cooperstown! We've been looking for you and Bakura for ages!"

Yami Bakura looked away. "Bakura is dead," he said bitterly. "This man killed him." He pointed to Johnson, who was still dazed on the ground from the Doom Gaze attack.

"No way!" Joey stiffened, clenching a fist. "I'd beat the guy up, but it looks like you already have that covered."

Yami Bakura gave a weak, hopeless shrug. "Bakura is still dead." He stared at Johnson without fully seeing him. Had he delivered justice, or blind hatred? Or had it started as one but become the other? Did it matter?

He never would change, would he? He couldn't react to something like this with anything other than hatred and rage. And under the circumstances, he couldn't make himself feel that he had done wrong. And, he was sure, that would mean he wasn't "good" by Shadi's standards. Probably in the eyes of Bakura's religion as well, even if Bakura himself would feel differently.

" _No one could lose loved ones in such a cruel way without feeling hatred,"_ the boy had told him more than once. _"If it had been me in Kul Elna . . . Yami, I might have become even more vicious than you."_

And then there was the conversation they had had in what seemed a lifetime ago now, when Bakura had told him that if the Pharaoh and his court had truly been responsible for the massacre, as Yami Bakura had fully believed, he would have been right to go after them and bring their rule down. This was the same type of situation, wasn't it? It was right to stop the Big Five. Perhaps . . . perhaps Bakura wouldn't be afraid of him for what he had done. Even though he certainly had gone past what was actually necessary to stop Johnson.

"Hey."

He jumped. Joey was in front of him now, actually looking concerned. "Are you okay?"

He shook his head. "No." There was no use denying it, no matter how weak it would make him look. But they wouldn't think him weak for loving Bakura that much. They would understand.

The others had caught up now. Atem stepped forward, his eyes filled with concern. "Bakura . . ."

" _Don't_ call me that!" Yami Bakura snapped. "Bakura is _his_ name and only his name now." He turned away. "I am merely a nameless thief."

"Well . . . we've gotta call you _something_ ," Joey said. "And you know, we started thinking you were dead too! But here you are! We must've all been in the same space, only Johnson made us think we weren't!"

Yami Bakura frowned. That made a certain sense. But even so, the spell was broken over this part of the area and there was no sign of Bakura. And anyway, if Bakura was alive, wouldn't Johnson have admitted it in a desperate attempt to save himself from Yami Bakura's heartbroken and crazed assault? Why would he be asinine enough to say nothing?

"Look," Joey continued impatiently, "we're all upset about Bakura, if he's really dead. In this place, I'm not so sure he is! But . . . no matter what's happened to him, the truth is that we were upset about you too!"

"What?" Yami Bakura stared. That was the last thing he thought he would hear.

"It's true," Téa said softly. "We didn't want you to be laying somewhere hurt either. You're Bakura's friend . . . and ours too. I know you probably feel like you're all alone now, but you're not! We all care about you!"

Yami Bakura turned his disbelieving gaze to her, then to each of the others. Yugi smiled and nodded. Atem and Marik, though more somber, nodded as well. Seto just folded his arms and looked skeptical. Mokuba also hung back.

"Okay, so maybe 'almost all of us care about you' would be more accurate," Joey said gruffly. "But Téa's right. I never thought I could feel that way about you after all the crud you pulled in the past. But . . . you really are different now that you're free from Zorc. You're still kind of weird and you like to freak me and Tristan out, but you don't do anything bad."

"Perhaps you would feel differently had you seen me ten minutes ago," Yami Bakura said as he finally found his voice. "I used the Pharaoh's idea of playing Berserker Soul so I could attack Johnson again and again. I didn't even notice when his lifepoints dropped to zero; I just kept going."

Everyone looked at him in surprise for a moment—not because of what he had done, but how he had known to do it.

". . . My idea?" Atem said at last.

"My shadow in the Millennium Puzzle saw you," Yami Bakura said. "When we merged again, I gathered all of those memories."

Atem looked away. ". . . Of course." He had learned of the shadow some time ago, but it still seemed awkward to remember that Yami Bakura had been spying all that time.

"You were hurting," Téa said quietly. "Just as Atem was back then."

Yami Bakura raised an eyebrow. "You're saying that it doesn't bother you?"

"Well, you're right that we didn't see you," Joey said. "Maybe we would've thought you were a raving nutcase. But . . ." He heaved a sigh. "When we'd really stop to think about it, we'd understand."

Téa nodded. "I would have known right off the bat. I was with Atem during that dark moment in his life. I knew exactly why he attacked Weevil the way he did, and I couldn't blame him. But I couldn't stand to see him like that, in so much pain. I had to make him stop."

Yami Bakura bowed his head. This still seemed unreal. No one could ever take Bakura's place, and none of them would try. But . . . to actually know that some more of the people he had hurt cared about him was incredible, overwhelming. It was more than he deserved.

Yugi looked up at him. "We want to be your friends . . . if you'll have us."

"You're not just saying this because Bakura is dead and you feel you owe him something," Yami Bakura said slowly.

"No!" Joey burst out. "What the heck? What kind of a thing would that be to do?!"

"It's a legitimate question, especially after we weren't as close to Bakura as we should have been," Atem said. "But no, we sincerely mean it."

"That's right," Marik spoke at last.

Yami Bakura looked up again. "Thank you," he rasped. At that moment he didn't look like the strong and proud Thief King at all, but a tired and heartbroken man, weighed down by millennia of pain and loss.

"I am . . . glad you're alright," he stammered. And he was, really. He was still hurting that Bakura was not with them, but he had not expected that. He had determined Bakura was likely the only one dead, however; it would have been too strange for everyone to have died at that time. Johnson acting as though Bakura was the only one gone had only confirmed his feelings.

Seto still looked skeptical. "You are?" he said.

"It's funny, I guess, but I believe him," Joey said. "I don't think he could swallow his pride and say that if he didn't mean it."

"I agree," said Atem.

"Yes, that is correct." Yami Bakura still looked and sounded tired. "I was sure you were alive, but I didn't know where to look."

That was when a turquoise convertible suddenly drove up. "Hey! Joey! Yugi! Téa! Atem!" Tristan called. He leaped over the door of Duke's car and ran over to the group.

"Tristan!" Yugi waved, hurrying to meet him.

"Joey!" Serenity quickly followed.

Joey perked up. "Serenity!" He ran over and pulled her into a hug. "What the heck are you doing out in all this?!"

Serenity clutched him close. "Did you really think I'd stay away?"

"No, but I was hoping." Joey looked over as Tristan studied everyone present. His stomach started to knot.

"So where's Bakura?" Tristan frowned.

Everyone looked down.

"Tristan . . . Bakura is . . ." Téa brushed at her eyes. "Well, we're not sure. There was an explosion and he disappeared, but so did Yami Bakura and he's back now. . . ."

Tristan looked to Yami Bakura in shock and anger. "How did that happen to Bakura?!" he demanded. "You're supposed to protect him! Why didn't you?!"

"Tristan!" Yugi gasped.

Yami Bakura jerked, staring at Tristan with an unreadable expression. Everyone tensed. Was he going to snap again? Would he attack Tristan as he had Johnson?

Instead he turned, his hair flying out around him. "Because _he_ was protecting _me!_ " he spat. He looked down at Johnson. "And if he wasn't dead, don't you think this fool would have told me to save himself?!"

Tristan flinched. "Well, I don't know!" he shot back. "Why don't we wake him up and find out?!"

"Don't fight," Téa pleaded. "You're both hurting, but that won't help!"

Yugi nodded. "We need to be united against the Big Five, not fighting among ourselves!"

Tristan clenched his teeth. "What happened to the guy anyway?" he asked, looking down at the dazed Johnson.

"He's the one who caused the explosion," Atem said. "Apparently he dueled Yami Bakura and Yami Bakura eventually snapped and attacked him." He looked down. "Just as I did on the train with Weevil."

Seto reached and grabbed Johnson's arms, hauling him to his feet. "Well, I have to admit the thief did us all a favor. Now I'm not letting Johnson out of my sight."

Johnson flinched, beginning to revive as Seto tied his wrists behind his back. "Mr. Kaiba, what . . ."

"Save it," Seto interrupted. "You're coming with us. I don't suppose you'd be worth anything to the other members of the Big Five as a bargaining chip."

"Bargaining for what?" Téa blinked. "They'd never agree to stop their plans if you give Johnson back. . . ."

"If Bakura's alive, maybe we can trade him for Johnson," Mokuba suggested.

"I don't know what to believe on that," Seto said. "Nor do I think this snake would tell us the truth. He probably doesn't even know what the truth looks like anymore; he's lived with lies for so long."

"You won't have any luck trying to trade me for that boy," Johnson insisted.

"Why not?" Yugi frowned. "Is Bakura really dead? Or do the Big Five just want him for some reason?"

"Look at the evidence," Johnson smoothly replied. "You found the scraps of his incinerated clothing. My world has disappeared and he hasn't returned. What does that say to you?"

"It says to me that you need to shut up before I take my turn beating you up!" Joey retorted, shaking a fist in Johnson's face.

"Alright, let's just keep going," Yugi said. "Tristan, where did you guys come from?"

"From Nesbitt's section," Tristan scowled. "We were just about to clobber him in a duel and he teleported out so he wouldn't have to suffer defeat."

"Okay, so we probably don't want to go that way," Yugi said. "How about we keep moving right? I think we're almost back to the city now. We'll probably come down in Lector's section if we stick to the right."

"Fine with me," Tristan said.

"But hardly any of you guys are going to fit in the car," Duke remarked.

"Hey, now that we're away from that creep show, we can ride Red Eyes again," Joey said. "That's what I'm gonna do."

"That sounds like fun," Serenity smiled.

"It sure is!" Joey exclaimed, before realizing what she meant. "But . . . uh, you don't wanna ride way up high like that, do you?!" Worry flickered in his eyes.

"Yes, I do, Joey," Serenity insisted. "I'll be fine! And hey, it's not every day that I get to ride your favorite Duel Monster!"

"That's true," Joey said slowly, scratching his head. "Maybe if you hold on to me, you won't fall. . . ."

That was when the Magicians finally decided to speak and make their presence known.

"Hello," the Dark Magician greeted Atem.

Atem turned and stared. How had he not noticed these two were here? "Mahad?" he gasped.

The Dark Magician looked alarmed. "Oh no," he exclaimed. "Master Mahad is the great first Dark Magician. We've all heard many tales of him. I am just a lowly servant, striving to become even half as great as he."

Yami Bakura rolled his eyes.

"I . . . I see," Atem stammered, clearly surprised to meet a Dark Magician who wasn't Mahad.

"I will do all I can to protect you and the others, my Pharaoh," the Dark Magician said.

"And so will I," the Dark Magician Girl beamed.

"Thank you," Atem said, still reeling.

David leaned over to Duke while everyone else sorted out where they wanted to ride. "So, do we tell them about running into you-know-who, or do you think we should wait and see if she'll show up on her own this time?" he whispered.

Duke paused. "Honestly, I'm inclined to say we should wait. Joey's already had a lot of false hopes about her coming back. But let's leave it up to Tristan and Serenity, at least for now. They're closer to Joey than we are."

"Right now, Tristan looks mad enough to bite through metal," David noted.

A sigh from Duke. "Probably a combination of running into you-know-who, then Nesbitt, and now coming and finding out about Bakura. That's a lot for one day, especially for a guy who doesn't always do so well at keeping his temper. He's always good at it when Joey's losing it, but not so good when it's something that hits him especially hard."

"Yami Bakura looked ready to sock him when he snapped at him," David said.

"If Tristan keeps pushing his buttons, he just might," Duke said. "I just hope they're not both going to come with us."

When all the arrangements were made, Tristan had decided to ride Red Eyes. Yami Bakura was still standing on the ground, his fists clenched. "We'll just walk," he said, indicating himself and Dark Necrofear.

Yugi regarded him in concern. "Are you sure?"

"There's room in the car," Duke said, "since most people wanted to see what it was like to ride a dragon."

Yami Bakura hesitated for a long moment. But he couldn't deny the practicality of moving faster. "Fine," he grunted at last. He nearly threw himself into the backseat of the car. Dark Necrofear silently entered after him.

David stared at her. "That Duel Monster has always given me the heebie-jeebies," he hissed to Duke. "That soulless look and her broken doll that moves and talks on its own. . . ."

Duke just shrugged. "If she's on our side, I don't care."

"She is," Yami Bakura insisted.

"Then let's go." As Red Eyes cast a huge shadow over the car while taking flight, Duke revved the engine to keep pace with him on the ground. He started down the road, which was thankfully modern asphalt and not a bumpy dirt trail. Yami Bakura just folded his arms, apparently not planning to volunteer much more, if anything, to the conversation. Dark Necrofear felt likewise.

David was alright with that.

xxxx

Bakura was both surprised and not surprised when he emerged from the strange conference room prison to find himself in KaibaCorp. Naturally, where else would the Big Five be operating from?

He hurried to the elevator and down to the first floor. He didn't know how or who, but he had to find someone to help him get back to the others. Yami Bakura was so devastated and heartbroken! And the effects of the Change of Heart card would likely only last for a few minutes. Gansley could start coming after him before he even made it out of the building.

To his relief, he made it downstairs and outside without difficulty. And to his amazement, a Marauding Captain ran right up to him. "Excuse me, are you Ryou Bakura?" he greeted.

Bakura blinked rapidly, bemused. "Why yes . . ."

"Then come with me," the Marauding Captain beseeched. "Your friends are looking for you."

Bakura perked up. "Have you seen Yami and the Pharaoh and the others?!"

"No," the Marauding Captain said slowly. "I've come on behalf of my master, Valon."

More confusion. "Oh. . . . The bikers are looking for us?!"

"They, and some others." The Marauding Captain gestured down the street. "Please, come with me."

Bakura followed, agreeably. "Who else is looking?" he wondered. "Tristan and Duke?"

"Solomon Muto and a woman," the Marauding Captain told him. "One my master is quite fond of. I believe her name is . . ."

"Mai?!" Bakura stared. The bluish-purple convertible was coming down the street now, driven by Mai Valentine with Solomon in the passenger seat. Valon was riding on his motorcycle next to the car, while a blue sedan followed behind.

"Oh! Bakura!" Solomon leaned on the top of the door as Mai pulled over to the curb. "Good, you've been found! Where are the others?"

"Up near the mountains," Bakura exclaimed. He pulled the back door open and hurried inside. "We must find them immediately! Yami thinks I'm dead. . . ." He swallowed hard.

"Why on Earth does he think that?!" Solomon exclaimed.

"Talk later, drive now!" Mai interrupted. She floored the gas pedal and swerved to the left to head for the mountains.

Bakura yelped, flying to one side of the car. "The Big Five deliberately tricked him so he'd snap!" he cried.

"And did he?" Solomon frowned.

"Yes, but not the way they wanted." Bakura finally managed to pull the seatbelt down. "They wanted him to use the Infinity Ring in a burst of hateful rage so that it would turn on him and burn him up. Then they could take it." Angry tears pricked his eyes. "He didn't use it at all. He had Dark Necrofear attack one of the Big Five over and over again. Then he burned out because it wasn't bringing me back . . ." He trailed off.

"How do you know all of this, Bakura?" Solomon gently asked.

"I was being held prisoner in a room with screens," Bakura said. "The Big Five were monitoring everyone. And when I learned that they had wanted Yami to use the Infinity Ring so it would backfire, I . . . did something horrible and I don't regret it." He gripped the knees of his pants.

"What did you do?" Mai asked.

"Well, for some reason I found myself holding a Change of Heart card," Bakura said. "I guess I subconsciously grabbed it off the ground after trying to save Yami from that explosion. I could have used it as soon as that one Big Five member walked into the room where they were holding me, but I just couldn't see myself mind-controlling any human being, even them. Then when I knew what their plan had really been, I lost control of myself and used it to escape." He looked down. "I actually took away someone's free will. And when I don't regret it . . . doesn't that make me as bad as they?"

Mai and Solomon were silent for a moment. Then, gathering his thoughts, Solomon said, "The Change of Heart only works for one turn, doesn't it?"

"Yes," Bakura said slowly. "But how does that matter? I still did it. And I'm not sorry."

"At least he's surely free of the effect by now," Solomon said. "And I think motivation comes into play a lot in a situation like this. The Big Five are controlling the entire city and all of our fates because of their own selfish notions. You found out that your dear friend was being tortured because they wanted him to die and leave the Ring behind for them to take. You knew you had to get out of there and find him. And when you learned the extent of their evil, you felt it justified to use the Change of Heart card to get away."

"I suppose," Bakura said softly.

"Hey, it's a lot better than joining an evil cult to get ultimate power," Mai said. "My motivation had nothing to do with wanting the power to protect anyone or anything noble like that. I just couldn't lose any more. I had to win. And that blinded me to what was really going on."

"But your situation wasn't so cut-and-dry either, Mai," Bakura objected. "Yami Marik completely devastated you. You can't just immediately bounce back from being emotionally broken. I know that all too well from personal experience . . . and from trying to help Yami after Yami Marik tortured him for days on end. You weren't yourself. Neither was he. It took weeks to really get him back to some semblance of normalcy, and that was only because I was there," he softly added. "After Battle City, you were all alone. You didn't have anyone to help you overcome Yami Marik's lingering evil."

Mai smiled, a bit ruefully. "I try to tell myself that," she said, "but it doesn't do a whole lot of good. I just can't reconcile myself with what I did." Softer, she added, "So how can I think anyone else can?"

"Joey forgave you long ago, Mai," Solomon said quietly. "Actually, I doubt he ever blamed you for one moment. He knew something wasn't right. He knew you would never join Dartz in your right mind."

"I like to think he's right," Mai said. "And Tristan's worried that I'll hurt Joey again. He has every right to worry."

"He'll come around," Bakura insisted. "If he can forgive Yami, he can forgive anyone!"

Mai looked at him in the rear-view mirror. "That's another thing," she said. "I know Yugi and the rest said that there was some evil spirit possessing you in the past. I guess that's 'Yami'? What's up with him and you being so close? And apparently having separate bodies?"

Now Bakura's smile was rueful. "That's quite a long story," he said. "And what about you, Mai? What made you finally decide to come back?

"That," Mai said, "is another long story. One I'll probably be telling soon, when we find Joey."

"Fair enough," Bakura said.

"Oh," Solomon realized, "you probably don't know about the Pharaoh either, do you, Mai?"

Mai blinked. "The what? Oh . . . wait." She frowned. "Dartz was always talking about the Pharaoh. He said . . . Yugi was his vessel?"

"That's right," Solomon nodded. "A lot of the times you thought you were talking to Yugi, you were actually talking to the Pharaoh. He went away for a while, but now he's come back, and he also has a separate body."

"Well, that's . . . good to know," Mai said slowly.

"Oh, and Mai?" Bakura suddenly said. "Yami can change his appearance, so if he does that around you, don't be too surprised."

"Okay," Mai said, though she really didn't understand at all.

"He might do it to tease you, especially if he sees you're shocked by it." Bakura had a funny little smile now. It softened as he continued, "But he's harmless."

"I'm glad," Mai said. "I could tell you were a loner in the past. Being one myself, I can spot one a mile away. You needed some friends."

"I have the best ones I ever could," Bakura said. "And so do you."

"I know," Mai said quietly.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Duke had been driving for a few minutes when he decided maybe he needed to try talking with the angry and hurting thief on the backseat. They had hardly ever associated, so it would likely be awkward, but on the other hand, they didn't have the kind of antagonistic relationship that was had between Yami Bakura and Tristan, so perhaps it wouldn't actually be so difficult.

"Hey," he said, "I'm sorry about what Tristan said. You know how he gets."

"I know," Yami Bakura flatly answered. "But he was right. . . . I should have protected Bakura. I didn't even know that blast was going to hit us. There were two Duel Monsters. The first distracted me while the second launched that fatal attack."

The Dark Magician turned to look at him in concern. "Then how could you have known?"

A shrug. "Oh, I really couldn't have," Yami Bakura said in annoyance and disgust, "but I should have. Bakura saw what I did not. He tackled me out of the way and was too close to the blast. He was killed because of me."

"You would have done the same for him," David said quietly.

"Yes, I would have," Yami Bakura said. "But sacrificing oneself is never a good solution to such a problem. The one left behind has to pick up the pieces."

"Yeah." Duke gripped the steering wheel. This was a subject he and David understood all too well.

"A lot of times, the person never means to sacrifice himself," David said. "They hope they'll get out of it too. But it doesn't always work out that way."

"Whether it was the intention or not, it doesn't change the difficulty of dealing with it," Yami Bakura said. "Duke had such trouble with it that he finally had to reverse time altogether. And I would also do that, if I found a way. I would have done it millennia ago for Kul Elna, if there had been a way."

"Everyone who loses someone would want to do that," Duke said quietly.

"But is there any chance that Bakura is still alive?" David wondered. "What if Johnson couldn't reveal it because it would foil some of the Big Five's plans?"

"Or what if Johnson really thinks Bakura is dead, whether he is or not?" Duke suggested.

"Don't think I haven't wanted to think something like that," Yami Bakura growled. "But how would Bakura's state have anything to do with the Big Five's plans?"

"Maybe we should first ask why they wanted him to die," David said. "We might find some answers that way."

"I find no answers," Yami Bakura retorted. "We know they want to kill all of us. Bakura would not be an exception. I can see no reason to pretend he's dead, unless it's to break morale."

"Instead, they've only increased your determination to stop them," David said.

"Exactly." Yami Bakura's eyes darkened. "If they thought I would roll over and die, they are sadly mistaken! I'll see them all suffer first."

"But it won't bring Bakura back," Duke said.

"I know," Yami Bakura snarled. "But I still can't let them get away with any part of their scheme."

"So what is it you want?" David wondered. "Revenge or justice?"

"Sometimes I wonder if there's really such a difference," Yami Bakura grunted. "For me, justice isn't merely stopping a plot, but making the perpetrator suffer for it. Johnson deserved to feel pain after what he did to Bakura." He gripped his arms. "Just as I know I deserve to feel it after everything I've done."

"And you're feeling it," David said. "Knowing that someone you love is gone is probably the worst punishment you could have, especially when you already experienced it in the past."

"Yes," Yami Bakura said quietly.

"But if you never hurt anyone like that until Zorc poisoned you, like Bakura said, then I don't think you deserve to be punished to some extreme," Duke said. "I mean, in that case it really wasn't entirely your fault."

"Heh. That's what Bakura says," Yami Bakura said.

"Then why don't you listen to him?" Duke countered. "Whether he's dead or not, I know it would mean a lot to him for you to find some value in yourself."

Yami Bakura leaned back, staring up at the sky without fully seeing it. It was strange. . . . He had always been a vain person, perhaps seeing too much value in himself. He was still vain about his physical appearance; he knew he was attractive. But he had also thought himself great in other ways. Or had some of that been Zorc? Zorc had thought what they were doing was something to be proud of. So had he. But when Zorc had been stripped away and he had been left to himself and the realization of everything he had done, his opinion of himself as a person had shifted 180 degrees. He believed himself terrible, no matter what Bakura tried to tell him. And not just Bakura; even Dartz had expressed the view that he was not as wretched as he believed himself to be. And Tristan and Joey, and Duke to an extent. . . . They had all distrusted him and saw him as he still saw himself, but even their views were shifting. They saw he really was different now.

So why couldn't he accept that?

Sensing the conversation had gone as far as it was going to, Duke said, "It's just something to think about."

Yami Bakura came back to the present and looked to him. "You're being awfully helpful," he remarked. "You distrusted me deeply, almost as much as Tristan. When that fiend controlled me with his Shadow Leech, even Joey felt I wasn't to blame. But Tristan did, and you did. I saw it in your eyes."

Duke looked away, focusing instead on the road. "Yeah, I did," he acknowledged. "And yet I never really had the complicated past with you that Tristan had. I barely encountered you. I mostly just heard stuff second-hand. The only thing I actually saw was you dueling Atem . . . and forgetting about Marik's scheme so you could save Bakura."

"Which I insisted I was doing because I still needed him," Yami Bakura said.

"Well, the point is, one of the only things I saw was one of your better moments." Duke tensed as a group of T.A.D.P.O.L.E.s hopped in front of the car. He served, wildly, and barely avoided them. A cloud of dust rose from the tires on the right side of the car.

David gasped, holding a hand to his heart. "Duke, warn me when you're going to do that!"

"Maybe they should have warned us they were going to get in the way," Duke countered. To Yami Bakura he continued, "Anyway, so it was probably easier for me to accept your return than it was for Tristan. And even though I was suspicious of you after that incident with the Shadow Leech happened, I remembered the good things you'd done and your caring for Bakura before long. Plus, once all the dust settled, I found out you'd almost got killed trying to save Tristan later that day and then maxed out any remaining strength you had trying to help Marik."

"And that changed all of your feelings, just like that," Yami Bakura snorted.

"No, but it went a long way toward helping," Duke said. "I'm sure you know that Tristan and I don't really have heart-to-hearts. But for some reason I was present when Yugi, Atem, Joey, Tristan, and Téa were all discussing you a couple of days after that. There were still a lot of confused feelings. Tristan said you told him he might change his mind after he had time to think about everything and he might go back to distrusting you again. He said he hadn't changed his mind. And Joey . . . well, he said that if the Thief King risked his life for Tristan, he couldn't be all bad. And Téa added that you'd also risked your life on multiple occasions for Bakura, especially against that serial killer the White Death."

Yami Bakura looked up at the dragon flying overhead. ". . . They said I was one of them now," he said quietly, in awed amazement. "They said they wanted to be friends." He scoffed. "Me? They want to be friends with me?" He shook his head. "But I know them too well. They wouldn't lie. They meant every word." He looked away. "Tristan wasn't there then. And when he came, the first thing he did was to blame me for what happened to Bakura." He clenched a fist. "Rightfully."

"You couldn't help it," David insisted.

"And Tristan is always running off at the mouth," Duke added. "I've heard him say plenty of garbage to Joey too, when he gets mad enough. And of course, Joey's the king of stupid comments when he's ticked off. But they both feel bad about it when they calm down enough. Tristan won't stay mad at you. He knows you're hurting more than he ever could, even though he cares about Bakura too."

"Perhaps," Yami Bakura grunted, unconvinced. Did he _want_ Tristan to not be mad at him? He blamed himself; Tristan had a perfect right to do so as well. But . . . it had been nice, when Tristan had stopped feeling so antagonistic towards him. He didn't really want to go back to how it had been, now that he had had a taste of what it could be instead. He was hurting so badly inside. It was nice when others provided comfort and assurance instead of more hurt. Maybe it meant he was weak, but . . . he wanted it to stay that way. He had been without love and caring for almost all of his existence. To have it again, he realized how starved he was for it and how much he had believed he would never have it after Kul Elna . . . and after Dalilah had left him.

Bakura had once promised him that even death would not separate them. If he died, he would still stay, as either an Earthbound spirit or a guardian angel. Yami Bakura knew the boy meant it. And it was so tempting to take the Infinity Ring off, to see if becoming a spirit again himself would open his eyes to that other plane. . . .

There wouldn't be any harm in it, just for a moment. . . .

He reached up, slowly pulling the Ring off from around his neck but still holding onto it. "Bakura?" he rasped. "Are you here?"

Dark Necrofear turned to look at him in concern. If he remained in spirit form, the wounds from Zorc's destruction would start opening up again. She could already see it starting.

And Duke was just realizing that his passenger had become transparent. "What the . . . ?!" The car swerved again.

"Duke!" David yelped. "Keep it steady!"

Quickly Yami Bakura replaced the Ring and returned to his mortal form. There was no sign of Bakura, or any other spirits either. He sighed and leaned back against the seat, gazing up at the sky. "Where are you?" he whispered.

"Warn me when you're going to do that!" Duke cried.

Yami Bakura merely shrugged. He doubted he would do it again any time soon. Becoming part of the spirit plane and still not finding Bakura was even worse than just wondering whether he was there.

He frowned. Was there any possible chance that Bakura was alive? He didn't want to believe in false hope, but he didn't want to give up prematurely either. It didn't seem reasonable that the boy lived, but still . . . part of him wanted to hope so badly.

Bah, he really was weak, to believe in hope.

xxxx

In the sky, on Red Eyes, Tristan was still both fuming and reeling. "There's no sign of Bakura down there," he said. "He's just nowhere to be found."

"You don't really think it's Yami Bakura's fault, do you, Tristan?" Téa said in concern.

Tristan scowled. "It was such a shock. I needed someone to blame and he was there."

"It's the Big Five's fault," Atem said grimly. "But no one blames Yami Bakura more than he does himself."

"Yeah, I guess." Tristan looked away. "I should probably apologize when we land. . . ."

"I think that would be nice," Yugi said.

"It's funny how things go," Joey said. "Even in spite of him teasing us and everything, I guess I really have ended up believing that we can trust him. And then when it looked like he might be dead along with Bakura, I didn't wanna believe it about either one of them. I was happy to see him back. And I still want to believe Bakura's still alive too."

"Me too," Tristan said, "but I don't know how he could be."

"In a world that plays with your mind, anything is possible," Seto finally spoke up from where he was still tightly holding on to Johnson. "I don't know that I believe Bakura is alright, but I'm not denying he could be." He glowered at his nemesis. "I hope he is alright. I don't want these sleazeballs using my technology to kill people!"

Tristan hesitated. "Yeah, about that. . . . You know those Dark Magicians we found?"

"What about them?" Seto demanded.

"Well . . . the truth is, they're not holograms," Tristan admitted. "None of these Duel Monsters are. They told us a portal opened from their world and they came on over."

Johnson stiffened in shock. "That can't be!"

"What?!" Seto snorted. "They were probably re-programmed to say that!"

"And were they programmed to try on clothes in a department store too?" Tristan retorted. "Instantaneously?"

Seto went stiff. "Holograms couldn't do that," he said in a monotone of horror.

Atem looked back at him. "So you're saying these monsters are all real?!"

"They sure seem to be," Serenity said. "Actually, it's pretty cool!"

Joey pondered on that. "So . . . we're riding on a real Red Eyes? That's not just cool; it's awesome!" He looked practically starry-eyed.

"And that means this is a real Shining Friendship!" Téa exclaimed. "Aww, he's so cute!" She scratched the Duel Monster's chin and he closed his eyes in bliss.

"How did this happen?!" Seto cried. He glared at Johnson. "You'd better explain!"

"But I can't explain, Mr. Kaiba!" Johnson gasped. "All we did was re-program your game. How would that cause some kind of magic to happen?!"

"That's what I'd like to know!" Seto barked.

Marik suddenly went stiff. "Oh no."

Mokuba looked up at him. "What is it, Marik?"

"If the monsters are all real, then what about the Egyptian God Monsters?" Marik worried. "Kaiba said he put them in the game too!"

Yugi gasped. "That's right! Oh wow, they're probably going to be furious!"

"Not to worry, Yugi," Atem cut in. "I should be able to calm them down if they show up."

"And will you be able to calm this down too?" a Southern voice suddenly echoed around them.

Johnson's eyes widened. "Lector. . . . No, don't do it! I'm their prisoner!"

But if Lector heard, he didn't care. Without warning, a tornado ripped towards them from the street they were just approaching as they neared the end of the canyons.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Joey cried. "Again?!"

"This time it's a land tornado," Atem said. "Everyone, brace yourselves!"

Red Eyes roared. He was unable to withstand this force any better than he had Gansley's underwater version. As it drew closer, he was pulled in despite his best efforts to strain against it. Down below, Duke's group screamed as they were also caught up in it.

Téa held onto Shining Friendship for dear life. "Where are we going to end up now?!" she wailed.

Serenity clutched at her brother. "Joey!" Her hair blew wildly into her face.

Joey gripped her in desperation. "Don't worry, Serenity!" he yelled through gritted teeth. "I'm . . . never . . . gonna . . . let you go!"

Any further words from anyone were lost in the whirlwind.

xxxx

"Téa? Are you alright?"

Téa groaned as consciousness slowly returned. Through the fog over her mind, it seemed that Atem was talking to her. And yet, it didn't sound like Atem. . . .

Shining Friendship warbled, poking her on the arm.

Slowly she opened her eyes. Her Duel Monster was next to her, his eyes bright and concerned. And kneeling near her was a very tense Seto Kaiba.

Immediately she was fully awake. "Kaiba?!" She sprang upright. "Where's everyone else?!"

"I don't know," Seto said through gritted teeth. "We're the only ones here. And my Battle Ox."

His Duel Monster, standing to the side with folded arms, grunted in agreement.

"But then . . . Mokuba. . . ." Téa looked around in horror.

"The Big Five might have him," Seto agreed. "And we were supposed to be heading for Lector's section of the city. His tornado blew us all the way into Crump's."

"You're kidding!" But Téa saw with a sinking heart that Seto was right. Penguins and glaciers were everywhere. She had desperately hoped that she wouldn't have to encounter Crump again. Now, it was almost a sure thing. The only possible upside was that she wasn't alone this time.

Seto got up. "Let's get going. We have to find Mokuba now!"

Téa fully agreed. She stood as well. "Maybe the Big Five didn't get him," she hoped. "Maybe he's with one of the others."

"Maybe," Seto agreed. "Or maybe not." He set off at a brisk pace in complete determination.

Téa hurried after him. "Wait up!"

Seto slowed . . . slightly.

Téa frowned as she caught up to him. "Kaiba . . . you're limping," she realized. "You've been hurt!"

"I'm alright!" Seto insisted. "We have to find Mokuba. We can't stop for whatever petty injury I may have gained."

Téa bit her lip. Seto certainly had a point, and yet . . .

"When you're hurt, you won't be able to look as efficiently," she pointed out. "Maybe if you get that taken care of, you'll be able to look for him easier!"

Seto clenched his teeth. Téa always had spoken her mind. She was never the type to just sit back and let anyone tell her what to do, even if that someone was the most powerful person in Domino City. And he had to admit, she had a point.

"It's probably just a bruise." But he stopped walking and pulled up his pant leg enough to examine the spot.

"It looks like a bad one," Téa frowned.

"Well, it's too bad all this ice is fake," Seto said with dripping sarcasm. "I could just take some and numb it with that." He let the clothing fall back down over the injury. "As it is, there's nothing we can do. We'll have to keep moving."

"If you keep putting pressure on it, it could get so bad you won't be able to walk," Téa said.

"Then we'll deal with that if it happens," Seto shot back. He started off again.

Téa sighed to herself as she followed. _Well, at least maybe if he gets that bad, Battle Ox could carry him,_ she thought. _Like he would ever let anyone do that._

She prayed everyone else was alright.

xxxx

"Tristan? Wake up."

Tristan groaned as the deep and gravelly voice filled his ears and echoed through the area. Somehow, everything felt so dark and dank and cold. . . . He shivered.

"Tristan!"

He held a hand to his head as he rolled onto his back. "Okay, okay. I'm awake." He squinted in the near-darkness. Now he could make out the wild white hair, as well as the slight glow from Dark Necrofear's eyes in the background. "Where are we?"

Yami Bakura straightened, his hands going to his hips. "I believe we're locked in a mausoleum in the cemetery."

" _WHAT?!"_ Tristan flew to his feet. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Do you have a flashlight?" Yami Bakura asked.

Tristan frowned, thinking. "I've got a penlight." He took it out of his pocket and shined it around the room. Moss was growing on all the stone walls, while cobwebs draped from the corners of ceiling and floor. Several old autumn leaves were also scattered about the floor. The sight of a sarcophagus in the middle of the room, displayed prominently on a stone slab, caused him to groan aloud.

"I've tried the door, of course," Yami Bakura said. "It's locked."

"And your friend can't Doom Gaze it open or something?" Tristan scowled.

"Trying it caused a laser beam to ricochet around the mausoleum," Yami Bakura shot back. "But she's going to try her axe now."

"Well, it'd better work, is all I can say," Tristan grimaced. "I'm not staying in here for hours with a stiff."

"The owner of this tomb or me?" Yami Bakura's voice was filled with sarcasm.

"Oh, you're a riot." Tristan pulled himself to his feet. "At least I know you. I don't know anything about the person whose eternal rest we're disturbing."

Dark Necrofear was starting in with the axe now. The sounds of the weapon hitting the heavy door echoed eerily in the chamber.

"Hmm." Yami Bakura smirked. "I might think you'd think that knowing me would be worse than being with an unknown corpse."

Tristan looked away. "Look, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. That was crummy. I didn't mean it, really. . . . I was just upset about Bakura and it came out."

A tired shrug. "You don't have to explain yourself to me." Yami Bakura hesitated. "You know, the funny thing is that out of all of Yugi's little entourage, I probably always liked you the best."

Tristan stared at him in stunned disbelief. "What?! Why?!"

"As I told you, you have spirit," Yami Bakura said. "Perhaps . . . in some strange way, you reminded me of myself. You have always been quite a scrapper, never giving up despite the incredible odds against you. I have been the same."

Tristan sighed and looked away. "I never thought I'd end up compared to you. Or that I wouldn't even be that mad about it. I'm not mad at all right now, really. Not at you, anyway. I'd like to punch out the Big Five."

"You may yet have your chance," Yami Bakura said.

Tristan fell silent, listening to the sound of the axe. ". . . Something I've always wondered," he said at last. "You talk with class, like you're really educated. I thought you picked that up from Bakura. I guess possessing him was how you learned English. But in the Memory World, you talked the same way in the past. How would a thief left on his own since childhood grow up able to talk like that? I didn't think anyone from a lower social class could get an education back then."

"Not a traditional kind, certainly," Yami Bakura said. "But anyone could get something, if they were willing to work at it. I spent most of my time lurking in villages and cities and listening to the people talking. I picked up quite a vocabulary from that. And not all of it is very classy, I assure you."

"So . . ." Tristan shifted. "Did you pick up the reading and writing and arithmetic from Bakura, or was that something else you could do in the past?"

"A thief needs the ability to count or he might get taken by any hustler that comes along," Yami Bakura said. "Sometimes reading and writing are necessary as well."

Tristan shook his head. "You're something else."

Yami Bakura smirked more. "I know."

Tristan rolled his eyes. "Not very modest, are you."

"I simply know my abilities are impressive for one in my station, especially back then."

"Well, when you're right, you're right," Tristan sighed. Part of him wondered why Yami Bakura was behaving this way right now, when he was naturally still grief-stricken over Bakura. The other part recognized that Yami Bakura would not be likely to show his pain to Tristan. He was probably trying to hide it.

Tristan looked to Dark Necrofear, still hacking away at the door. It finally snapped and creaked open on ancient hinges, revealing the cemetery beyond. It was almost night now, and wisps of fog were curling around the graves and the ground.

Tristan looked to Yami Bakura with growing uneasiness. "You're . . . not doing that, are you."

"No, I am not." He was serious now, glaring at the scene as he stepped out from the mausoleum.

Several Dragon Zombies stepped out to greet him. Goblin Zombies, Clown Zombies, and other Zombie Duel Monsters were beginning to close in from all angles.

Tristan came up next to him in horror. "Oh no! And we don't have any Shield and Sword cards! That's the only thing that can defeat Zombie Duel Monsters!"

"It depends on several factors," Yami Bakura said. "But I wouldn't be surprised if the Big Five would go with that rule." He growled, quickly looking around the misty cemetery. "There may be some of those cards here. The only problem is getting past these creatures to look."

Dark Necrofear looked ready to give it all she had. And then a purple lizard waddled up to Tristan, tugging on his pant leg.

"Huh?" He blinked, looking down at it. "A Thunder Kid?"

Yami Bakura looked. "That one is an Electric Lizard," he said.

"Oh. Right." Tristan frowned. Yami Bakura had used one of those against them on their first meeting. But this one seemed friendly. "It looks like I've got my first Duel Monster buddy," he mused. "And just in time, too; I think he knows something that will help us!"

"Well, good," Yami Bakura grunted. "Right now we could use something." He watched as the Zombies Dark Necrofear had just defeated regenerated. There were too many for her alone to deal with; several were reaching out for him from other angles. He growled and jumped aside. "Ring, send them back to the underworld!" he ordered.

The Ring lit up and blasted the nearest Zombies. They stayed down. But there were far too many of them for Yami Bakura to manage to attack all at once. He snarled as one grabbed his leg and started to pull him down. He blasted it away, only to be assaulted by two more.

Electric Lizard hurried off, winding around the tombstones. Tristan gave chase. "Hey! Wait for me!" Then he saw the precious Shield and Sword card behind one. "Alright!" He grabbed it and held it out. "Offensive-Defensive Flip!"

Yami Bakura looked over from where he was wrestling with the Zombies and smirked. "Now Dark Necrofear is even more powerful. And the Zombies are all out of luck." He watched with relish as she and Electric Lizard defeated them for good.

Tristan held a hand to his heart. "Whew. Fighting zombies in a cemetery is not my idea of fun." Not to mention that the last time it had happened had been when Yami Marik had controlled Yami Bakura with a Shadow Leech. Not good memories.

"Well, don't relax yet," Yami Bakura warned as he started off. "I'm sure that wasn't the only danger Lector put in here."

"Great," Tristan groaned, although he imagined that was indeed true.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes: Wingweaver was chosen as a deliberate reference to an old friend. I doubt she's reading this, but I wanted to throw that in here anyway. Also, thank you for your input, anonymous reader! I did have a scene idea I scrapped where Tristan is nastier and Yami Bakura finally snaps, but I opted for several reasons not to do that (especially since they resolved their worst problems in the prior fic,** _ **An Eye for an Eye**_ **). However, I was inspired to try a similar yet different angle here thanks to your words.**

 **Chapter Fourteen**

"Mokuba?! Mokuba, are you alright?!"

"Huh?" The boy slowly opened his eyes, looking for the source of the voice that had suddenly interrupted his sleep. But all he could see was water swishing and wiggling in front of him.

Wiggling?

He woke up more. Revival Jam was weaving back and forth, definitely seeming worried. On his other side, Marik was bending over him, checking him for injuries.

"Marik!" Mokuba sat up straight. "What happened?! Where's Seto?!"

Marik rocked back, relieved that Mokuba was conscious but hating to bring ill news. "I don't know," he had to admit. "Unlike that first storm, this tornado separated everyone. We're the only ones here."

"Oh no. . . ." Mokuba pulled out his phone, but of course it still said No Signal. He scowled, shoving it back in his pocket. "We've gotta find Seto! Maybe separating everybody means the Big Five are gearing up for their big finale and they'll try to kill Seto!"

"I'm sure it doesn't mean anything good," Marik agreed. "But we have to be careful. Especially since now that Lector has remodeled this section of Domino City, nothing looks the same. I know it must be Bakura's neighborhood, but I can barely recognize anything!"

Mokuba bit his lip. "Wow. . . . He's really made it look just like New Orleans. . . ." He got to his feet. "It looks like some kind of voodoo shop over there. I know Domino doesn't really have one of those. . . ."

"There are probably all kinds of surprises," Marik said. "Let's stick together. The last thing we need is for one of us to be wandering around alone. Hopefully everyone has at least one companion."

"Yeah. . . ." Mokuba looked around in concern. "Even Duke's car went flying up into the tornado. A lot of the others might be really hurt!"

"I can help you find them."

Both boys jumped a mile. A beautiful Wingweaver was coming out from around a building, all six wings spread for flight.

Mokuba brightened. "Really?! It would be really amazing if you could! My brother's out there . . . and a lot of our friends. . . ."

"I'll fly above you and look around," Wingweaver told him. "If I see anyone, especially anyone hurt, I'll let you know."

"Oh thanks!" Mokuba beamed.

"Please also let us know if you see anyone acting suspicious," Marik said. "Particularly people in business suits."

"Alright." Wingweaver looked puzzled, but she didn't question it. She took flight, going several stories above them. A sky-blue feather fell from one wing, which was quickly picked up by Mokuba.

Marik sighed, running a hand through his hair as he and Mokuba followed her on the ground. Revival Jam hopped beside him. "You must know the Big Five fairly well," he said to his friend. "Is there any possibility that Lector will come after you as a way of getting to your brother?"

Mokuba frowned. "I'm not sure," he had to admit. "Nesbitt sure would. He did it before. But Lector . . . he actually acted upset about Seto using me in the past. Well, Seto didn't really, but that was how Lector saw it. I guess . . . I don't know, I'm really not sure Lector would try to go through me to get to Seto." He frowned more. "But on the other hand, he's the one who blocked Seto from getting to me when Nesbitt rode off with me. . . ."

"I doubt any of them are trustworthy," Marik said, his expression darkening. "And they're probably all in this together. Although coming to think of it, Johnson didn't want Lector stirring up that tornado while he was our prisoner. . . ."

"Yeah. . . . He might be pretty mad by now. Unless Lector was also using the tornado as a way of getting Johnson away from us," Mokuba suggested. "Then Johnson might be grateful. I mean, they can teleport around places. Maybe Lector would teleport him out instead of letting him get caught up in the tornado."

"I see someone!" Wingweaver called.

"Where are they?!" Marik demanded.

"There's a car laying on its side on the grass around the corner of the next block," Wingweaver said. "And two people are on the ground near it."

"Duke and David, maybe?" Mokuba suggested. "Or one of them and Yami Bakura? He was with them. . . ."

"I guess the Dark Magicians aren't there or Wingweaver would have mentioned them," Marik said. He scooped up Revival Jam and he and Mokuba picked up speed, running onto the next block and around the corner to a park that hadn't been there before.

Duke's car didn't look much the worse for wear. But Duke and David, both laying sprawled on the grass, might be another story. Marik ran over to David, gripping his shoulder as he tried to check for any signs of consciousness or injury.

"Is he okay?!" Mokuba demanded. He went over to Duke and knelt down, holding a hand in front of the older boy's face to feel for breath.

David groaned, stirring under Marik's grasp.

"He's alive," Marik said in relief.

"So's Duke," Mokuba said. He started checking for injuries. "I think they were both just knocked out."

Duke jerked, his eyes flying open. "David?! Yami Bakura?!"

"David's here, Duke," Mokuba told him. "He's okay; he's waking up now. But Yami Bakura isn't here. And none of the others either, except for Marik and me. . . ."

"Serenity. . . ." Duke pushed himself up, grimacing at the aches and pains. "Where is she?"

Mokuba looked down. "We just don't know, Duke. . . ."

David finally opened his eyes. "And to think some people pay to go on rides like that," he mumbled.

Marik moved back to give him some room. "Well, you sound like you're back to normal," he remarked.

David subconsciously reached to push up his glasses and then started, amazed that they were actually still there. "Is everyone okay? Duke?!" He looked around, relaxing as soon as he caught sight of his friend.

"I'm okay," Duke said in relief. "But we don't know where Serenity or any of the rest are. Even Yami Bakura, and he was with us!"

"That must have been some force," David said. "It ripped all of our seatbelts open and picked up the whole car!"

Duke started and looked to said car. "If it still works, maybe we can take it to go looking for everyone else," he said. He got up and limped over to it.

"I'd better drive," Marik said. "You look too shaken up to do it."

"I am kind of dizzy, I guess," Duke admitted, holding a hand to his head.

David went to him. "You might have a concussion," he worried.

"Or maybe I'm just not used to spinning around in tornados," Duke countered. "I'm surprised you're not dizzy!"

"I never said I wasn't," David retorted.

The four of them and Wingweaver managed to push the car upright. When Marik slid into the driver's seat to test it, the engine sputtered but then came to life.

"Alright!" Duke cheered. "Let's get in and go."

"There won't be any seatbelts," Marik warned.

"Well, drive slow," Duke said. "We need to find everyone else! I'll get the seatbelts repaired as soon as this is all over."

Mokuba and Revival Jam climbed into the front seat with Marik. Duke and David were content to sit in back. But just as Marik was about to drive off, the Dark Magicians suddenly teleported in front of the car.

"Is everyone alright?!" the Dark Magician asked.

"We're not too bad off," Duke said. "But where were you guys?! We thought you were missing along with everyone else!"

"We accidentally teleported ourselves out," the Dark Magician Girl admitted. "We thought we were bringing everyone in the car, but I guess our spells aren't that good yet. . . ." She averted her gaze guiltily.

Duke sighed. "Well, get in," he said. "I think we can all squeeze in if Revival Jam sits on Mokuba's lap. We were just going to go look for the others."

The Dark Magician got in back with him and David, while the Dark Magician Girl sat next to Mokuba. Wingweaver again took to the skies to look for more of the group. Praying for the best, Marik carefully drove off the grass and onto the street.

xxxx

Téa was tense as she and Seto walked down the fake Antarctica streets. Penguins were everywhere, playing on glaciers, sliding down them, waddling across front lawns and using children's swings. Ice Duel Monsters were also out and about, silently watching them but not speaking.

Seto was silent. Of course; what would he have to talk about? His worry about Mokuba? His fury at the Big Five? He wouldn't think any of it needed to be said, and it was true that it was written all over him without him saying a word.

Still, it always made Téa nervous when people were quiet. She liked conversation, to know what was going on in the other person's mind. To her, silence was loud and usually uncomfortable and undesirable.

But what on Earth would she even say to someone like Seto Kaiba? She had never liked him in the past. There had been times when she had been sure she was very close to hating him. But then there were always new layers to his personality, new reasons behind why he was what he was. And no matter how cold and harsh he was, his love for Mokuba kept him human.

That, and other things. He had saved her during Battle City. He had been outraged at the cruel duel between Yugi and mind-controlled Joey, but he had been helpless to stop it because he wouldn't risk Téa's life. He had only acted when he had finally found a way to do so that would free her from danger.

There had been things such as him continually insisting on striking out on his own during the mess in Noa's world. She had been so frustrated and even angry with him at the time. But he had known something he hadn't told any of them—that Noa had brainwashed Mokuba and turned him against Seto. Naturally Seto would feel that saving Mokuba was the most important thing, and she supposed it was logical that he would feel he was the only one who could do it, when he was the one closest to Mokuba.

Duke had bitterly said that Seto would never help any of them if they were in trouble. But Seto had helped her, and really, there had been times when he had saved all of them, or been part of it. He had fought against Dartz with Atem, Yugi, and Joey. And if it hadn't been for Seto protecting all of them and Tristan, Zorc might very well have won in that final battle. So Duke had been wrong; Seto would help. He wasn't very social and probably never would be, but he could be depended on in a crisis.

Finally Téa came back to the present. Seto wasn't likely to want to talk, but it didn't hurt to try.

"Kaiba?" Téa waited, but when there wasn't a reply she continued. "Um, if you'd like to talk about anything, I'm here. . . ."

"What would I talk about?" Seto returned. "How much I'd like to wring the Big Fives' necks?"

"If that's what you want to talk about," Téa said.

"I just talked about it," Seto said flatly.

Téa sighed, her shoulders slumping. ". . . I'm sure Mokuba's okay," she tried.

"I'm not," Seto retorted. "Do you know how many times my enemies have tried to use him against me? Pegasus, Marik, Noa, the Big Five, Yami Bakura . . . ! They've all done it!" His fists were clenched tightly at his sides. "I took over KaibaCorp because I thought we'd have a better life. I never stopped to think about all the nutcases who might hate me enough to try to get at me through my little brother!"

"Kaiba . . ." Téa just looked at him, taken aback by his sudden outburst.

"Could you have any idea what that's like?" Seto blurted.

Téa looked down, pondering on her answer. "Not completely, no," she admitted. "But I understand a little. People always try to use Yugi's loved ones against him too. Joey and I got used that way by Marik! It was awful."

"And Yugi, or the Pharaoh, or whoever, got so fed-up with it that he wanted to handle everything himself to keep all of you out of danger," Seto said.

"Yeah, but we never let that happen," Téa said. "We didn't want either of them getting hurt any more than they wanted to see it happen to us! So we've always tried to help each other, no matter what comes our way! I think Yugi and Atem finally got that we want to be there for them, sharing in what happens to them, instead of staying safe on the sidelines and worrying."

"You've been the victim, but have you ever been in Yugi's place, seeing everyone get used because the villain wants you?" Seto said.

Téa's shoulders slumped. "No, I haven't," she had to admit.

"Then you can't really know what it's like," Seto said. "You don't feel that intense desperation to keep it from happening again or the horror when it does. You couldn't know what it's like to be so universally hated that no one cares about using a defenseless kid against you, since they know that's the best way to get to you. I wanted to give Mokuba a better life, and instead he always has to watch out wherever he goes because my enemies want him as a pawn or as bait!"

"I know what it's like to not want my loved ones hurt!" Téa exclaimed.

"Mokuba even said he liked it better before I took over KaibaCorp," Seto said bitterly.

Téa blinked, looking to him in surprise now. "Is that why?"

Seto frowned. ". . . No," he had to admit. "He's never even said anything about how he gets used by my enemies. He's one of the most selfless people I've ever met. What he cares about is my happiness. He thinks I was happier before I took over KaibaCorp."

"And is he right?" Téa quietly asked.

Seto fell silent. "In some ways," he said at last.

"Kaiba . . ." Téa hesitated, then plunged ahead. "I never would have thought it when we first met you, but honestly, you're a really selfless person too."

Now it was Seto looking to her in shock. He stopped walking, staring at the girl he had had conflicts with in the past. "What?!"

"You gave up so much just to try to give Mokuba a happier life," Téa insisted. "Mokuba told me once how you could have been adopted so many times, but you refused if they wouldn't take Mokuba too."

"That wasn't entirely unselfish," Seto said. "I didn't want to be without Mokuba any more than he wanted to be without me."

"And you pushed away all the pain you must have had when your parents died to try to stay happy for Mokuba," Téa continued. "You didn't want him to see you sad."

"There wouldn't have been any purpose in that," Seto said.

"Kaiba, you gave up your childhood and your innocence and your love of life, all to try to help Mokuba!" Téa cried. "All the torture Gozaburo put you through . . . the emotional and psychological damage. . . . You were willing to die for your brother more than once, including when you dueled Yugi at Pegasus's castle! None of us really knew what was at stake then, but when we found out . . . well, it hit hard. I still don't think what you did in that duel was right, but . . . it made so much sense when we found out why."

Seto didn't reply. He started walking again, staring ahead.

Téa chased after him. "Do you wish you'd never taken over KaibaCorp?" she quietly asked.

". . . I don't know," Seto had to admit. "I don't know that we would have been better off. We might still be stuck in the orphanage right now if I hadn't decided to take control of our lives. But when things like this keep happening, I have to wonder which life would really be worse." He glowered ahead. "Only it's pointless to mull over the 'What ifs.' That won't change anything. The only thing that's important is dealing with the present and the future."

"Maybe these are things you should talk with Mokuba about," Téa suggested. "I'm sure he'd be happy to talk with you about anything. Do you guys really get to have heart-to-hearts?"

"Sometimes," Seto said vaguely.

Téa was sure it wasn't very often. "I know it's hard for you to open up, Kaiba, but just look at what you've been saying to me! I think it might really help both you and Mokuba to talk."

"I have no idea why I've been saying all of these things to you," Seto said. "But with Mokuba . . . I have to always be strong. I can't display doubts or regrets; I can't show him any other side of me."

"Well, why not?!" Téa burst out. "Family does see all sides of each other! I know you've had to be Mom, Dad, _and_ older brother for Mokuba, but I think he'd be really happy if you dropped all the walls at least sometimes."

Seto fell silent again. Téa had just about given up on a response when he said, "He probably would."

"I'm sure of it," Téa insisted.

By now they had walked all the way over to the museum. Several Penguin Knights lined up in a row in front of the steps perked up, eyeing the newcomers with warning eyes.

"Oh great," Téa groaned. "What's all this?!"

"If I had to guess, I'd say that Crump must be in there," Seto said.

"With Ishizu and Rishid!" Téa gasped. "Oh no! We have to do something!"

"We will," Seto said. "As soon as we get past this pathetic army. Battle Ox!" He gestured for his Duel Monster to charge ahead, which he did. Though the Penguin Knights put up a determined fight, they still lost in the end. Seto marched up the steps, his coat sweeping out around him.

Téa chased after him once again, praying that they weren't too late.

xxxx

Yami Bakura was tense as he and Tristan and their Duel Monsters made their way through the cemetery. The fog was growing thicker by the minute, and although it didn't look like Shadow Realm fog, it was still disturbing considering the Big Five were likely responsible. Lector wouldn't be doing this just for atmosphere. There had to be another reason, perhaps because it would be all too easy for them to get lost from each other. As it was, Yami Bakura could barely see the boy despite knowing he was there.

"Stay close to me," he told Tristan. "We don't know what's going to come at us next."

"Oh, and staying close to you will help?" Tristan retorted. "I'm the one who got us out of that last mess. Staying close to you would probably get me killed, just like it got Bakura killed."

Yami Bakura went stiff. "What did you say?!"

"You heard me," Tristan said coldly. "It's your fault Bakura's dead. You didn't protect him, you creep!"

Something in Yami Bakura just snapped. At the moment he didn't stop to wonder why Tristan was suddenly acting like this when he had seemed to regret his actions and had even apologized. The hurt building up from this horrible day had just boiled over and he couldn't take it anymore. He tackled Tristan to the ground, only belatedly realizing it was a foolish move when he couldn't see the ground through the fog. They had been right on top of one of the cemetery's many hills. Now they were tumbling over and over to the bottom, where they landed with Yami Bakura straddling Tristan on top of a grave.

"I tried to protect him!" he screamed, punching Tristan hard in the face. He received a punch in turn, which he mostly ignored. "I didn't let go of him in Gansley's underwater tornado! I fought that renegade Duel Monster trying to protect him! I tried. . . ." He punched again. "I _tried!_ "

His words echoed eerily in the stillness, bringing him sharply back to himself. His shoulders slumped and he rocked back, breathing heavily as he stared down at the dazed boy. Something wasn't right. Tristan could speak in anger, but would he have really acted like that with Yami Bakura after apologizing to him? He had sounded like he meant it. Yami Bakura honestly believed he had.

"You're . . . not real, are you?" he rasped. "You're not Tristan. . . ."

Or what if the Tristan who had apologized wasn't real? Maybe that one had been the fake. Somehow that thought hurt deeply.

The Tristan on the ground started to laugh. "Okay, you're right." He morphed into a dark blue cartoon cat. "I'm not Tristan at all!"

"Doppelganger," Yami Bakura hissed in disbelief. He got to his feet, eyes flashing. "Be gone!"

Dark Necrofear appeared out of the fog, lunging at their enemy. One Doom Gaze and he was indeed gone.

Yami Bakura looked to her in surprised gratitude. "Where is Tristan?" he wondered.

"Right here." Tristan's voice was coming from the side. Slowly he stepped out of the fog, sobered and shaken. Electric Lizard waddled at his side. "I got lost in the fog. I followed your screaming to find you. I . . . I really am sorry." He clenched a fist. "And I'm sorry that _thing_ used my bad behavior to try to make you think it was me. I would have liked to have punched it out myself." He looked down. "I'm even sorrier that that could have been me, not that long ago."

Yami Bakura shook his head with a weary sigh. "After all I did, how could I expect much else?"

"No. You can, and you should." Tristan got in front of him and laid his hands on Yami Bakura's shoulders, causing him to look up with a shocked start. "Whatever you did in the past shouldn't have any bearing on what happened today. You didn't deserve to have me accuse you of not protecting Bakura. I know you love him so much. You'd do all you could to save him. And you showed by finally snapping and attacking that double of me that what was said by both it and me really hurt you. I had no right to say that to you. Sometimes, rotten stuff happens that we can't prevent no matter how hard we try. I know that, but I was so upset suddenly hearing about Bakura and I needed someone to blame. Maybe I thought you should have been able to save him . . . especially since I wasn't there and couldn't do it. . . . And I let myself run off at the mouth."

Yami Bakura was silent. ". . . Yes, you hurt me," he finally admitted. "But that thing hurt me worse. Only . . ." He hesitated, folding his arms. "Would you have let yourself 'run off at the mouth' if it had been anyone else? Supposing it was Joey or Yugi. Would you demand to know why they hadn't protected Bakura?"

Tristan looked down. "No, I can't say I would have. And I'm ashamed."

A weary sigh. "It's still hard for you to get used to the idea that I am not the enemy," Yami Bakura said. "It's hard for _me_ to get used to it."

"Well, you've got a right to speak out about being mistreated," Tristan said.

A dark laugh. "The question is, is it mistreatment when my past actions earned it?"

Something about that matter-of-fact question and weary tone stabbed Tristan's heart. "Of course it is!" he exclaimed. "Without Zorc you've changed, and I finally recognized you've changed! You saved my life, man! The stab wound you got from it is still healing; I saw it before you switched forms."

"Yes, that's true," Yami Bakura admitted.

"This shouldn't have happened," Tristan said sadly, "but I can't take it back any more than you can take back what you did to me in the past. I know I didn't a few weeks ago, but after what happened with the Neo-Orichalcos and the Rare Hunters, I trust you. I know you'll have my back. I'll have yours, too. But you probably can't believe I mean any of this now."

Yami Bakura wanted to believe very badly, but he was still wary. "It's not that so much as it is I wonder how I can believe you're the real Tristan this time," he said. "Maybe you're a second Doppelganger, trying to lull me into a false sense of security."

Tristan sighed. "I guess you'll just have to take a leap of faith."

" _Faith."_ Yami Bakura scoffed. "Faith is for fools."

"Was Bakura a fool?" Tristan asked quietly. "He had a lot of faith . . . in you."

Yami Bakura looked away. He had often said Bakura was a fool for that very thing. But had he been?

" _You're good, Yami,"_ he could almost hear the boy assuring him once more. _"You're_ _ **good.**_ _I wish I could make you see yourself as I see you."_

Could he? He had done many cruel things in the past, while Zorc had been poisoning him. He hated himself for those things. And he hated himself for targeting guiltless people in ancient Egypt. But the other things, the things he couldn't make himself feel sorry for, those were things such as going after anyone who had harmed Bakura, from Bonz to Johnson, and also targeting Ahknadin . . . although now he regretted the methods he had used. Zorc had no doubt orchestrated that. His vengeance on Ahknadin had mostly brought about chaos on the guiltless again, instead of focusing it where it belonged.

He was a wild soul, an angry and justice-driven soul. Strange that he had never once thought of it before, but he and Atem were alike when it came to seeking justice . . . albeit they were not usually alike in their methods.

"Hey . . . are you okay?" Tristan broke into his thoughts.

He looked to the boy. When Joey had asked him that question, he had said No. And he still wasn't okay where it came to being grief-stricken over Bakura, if the boy was truly dead. He never would be okay about that, just as he would never be okay about Kul Elna.

"No, I am not okay," he said at last. "Nor do I know the answer to your other question. But . . . at least I can say that I would like to believe that Bakura was not a fool regarding me. He always saw what others did not see, about me and others. I once thought he was a naive fool, but he wasn't. He was . . . a pure spirit."

"He still is, whether he's dead or not," Tristan said. "So how about we keep believing in him and go find everyone else?"

Yami Bakura considered that and nodded. "Yes. Let's." He paused. "Thank you, Tristan."

Tristan started to turn away. "Yeah," he said gruffly but not insincerely. ". . . And for what it's worth, it meant a lot to me that you realized that other guy was a fake. Why did you?"

"You had apologized and seemed genuinely regretful," Yami Bakura said. "I didn't believe you would go back on that. For a moment I was hurt and I didn't think, but I recognized the truth when I stopped to reflect."

"I wish I'd done that as soon as I hurt you," Tristan said. "I should have apologized right there. Instead I just stayed mad."

"You admitted you wished you had been able to help Bakura," Yami Bakura said. "Perhaps you were angrier at yourself than you were at me?"

"Yeah," Tristan mused. "Maybe."

"Had the situation been reversed, I likely would have lost control of my emotions and screamed at you for not protecting Bakura," Yami Bakura said.

Tristan could picture that. "You know, you're actually a pretty understanding guy. More than I've been sometimes lately." He shoved his hands in his pockets in shame.

"About infractions such as this, yes, I'm understanding," Yami Bakura said. "About murdering Bakura, no, I am not."

Tristan shivered at the way his tone had darkened. But he couldn't blame the man. It was something Tristan could never understand either.

". . . I guess that's why I've had so much trouble with you," he said. "I could never understand how you could do all the garbage you did. Even after knowing Zorc poisoned you, it was hard to separate him from you."

"Even Bakura had trouble with that," Yami Bakura said with a resigned shrug.

"But he doesn't anymore," Tristan said. "I don't want to either."

Yami Bakura was silent for a long moment. "Some of the others expressed a desire to be friends," he said finally. "Even Joey. I never thought anything like that would ever come to pass. I wonder . . . had you been there, would you have wanted that too?"

Tristan rocked back, stunned. Of all things he could have been asked, he had never imagined that. Nor had he ever though he would be told such news. Joey had outright said he wanted to be friends with Yami Bakura? Tristan had accepted him as an ally, but . . . a friend?

A dark smirk. "I thought not."

Tristan shook himself back to the present as Yami Bakura walked off ahead. "Hey, wait a minute!" He ran and caught up with the mysterious Egyptian. "Let me turn that question back on you. Could you ever think of any of us as friends?"

Yami Bakura stared off into the fog. "I used to think not. I used to think I didn't even want it. I felt that the antagonistic feelings between us were only an irritation to me even though they made Bakura very sad. But . . . these last weeks, as things have started to improve . . . it's been nice."

"That doesn't answer the question," Tristan said.

"I have started to come to care about all of you," Yami Bakura said. "Yes, I believe that if things continue in this vein, I could think of you all as friends."

Tristan bowed his head. This was so much to take in. Now he really didn't have anything else to say.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

As darkness fell, Bakura was growing more and more tense and worried. They were passing into Crump's section now, and there had been no sign of any of their friends and family. Yami Bakura was who knew where. The memory of him repeatedly attacking Johnson in heartbroken grief and rage was still very fresh on the boy's mind. He blinked back tears, gripping the knees of his jeans.

Mai was also silent. It was quite a story Bakura had told—how the spirit had really been the mind-poisoned pawn of the personification of the darkness in human hearts and had returned to Bakura in tatters after Atem had defeated said personification. (Yugi being the vessel of a Pharaoh was a whole other level of shock.) She couldn't decide whether it had been sweet or hopelessly naive for Bakura to want to help the spirit after that, but apparently his compassion really had made a difference. The spirit had changed, accepting and embracing his love for Bakura and becoming a valuable ally for the group. From the way Bakura talked about him, it was obvious that he deeply loved the character in turn—and Mai couldn't help feeling comforted and encouraged. For someone like that to gain forgiveness, maybe there really was hope for her with the others too.

"Why haven't we seen anyone yet?!" Bakura burst out. "If they've been separated into different groups, you might think we would have run into some of them by now!"

"Hold your horses," Solomon told him. "It looks like you spoke too soon. Kaiba and Téa are over there, heading into the museum!"

"Oh!" Bakura perked up. "Téa!" he called, cupping his hands around his mouth.

On the steps, Téa froze. "That sounded like Bakura," she gasped. She spun around with hope in her eyes.

Seto turned too. "It is Bakura!"

Bakura leaped out of the car before Mai had quite brought it to a halt. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you!" he exclaimed. "Do you know where Yami is?!"

"I wish we did," Téa said. "We did find him, but Lector got us all separated again by making a tornado just as we were crossing into his section. But Bakura, where have you been?! We've all been worried that you were killed in that explosion!"

"I was being held captive by one of the Big Five," Bakura said. "I'm so sorry everyone's been worried. But what's happening here?!"

"We're just about to go inside and stomp Crump," Seto said. "He must be holding Ishizu and Rishid captive."

"And maybe trying to figure out that stone tablet in there," Solomon exclaimed. He hurried out of the car, followed by Mai.

Téa hadn't noticed her before. "Mai?!" she gasped. "You've come back!"

Mai definitely felt more than a little awkward. "Yeah. I sure have."

"Well, I'm glad to see you," Téa said sincerely. "I know Joey will be too."

"Reunite later. Stop Crump now," Seto interrupted.

Mai started and looked to him. "Right."

The bikers, who were pulling up now as well, quickly got into the swing of things. They parked and followed the group up the stairs.

Seto marched up to the museum doors and hauled them open. His Battle Ox dispatched of several Nightmare Penguins in the way, much to Téa's pleasure.

As they drew closer to where the Roman tablet was displayed, Ishizu heard them and looked up. Also hearing, Crump looked over with a start. "What the . . ."

Rishid took that opportunity to strike Crump on the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.

The penguins went wild. But as they swarmed the Ishtars, Mai's Baby Dragon entered the room and pounced, followed swiftly by Battle Ox and Valon's Marauding Captain.

"I only wish my Curse of Dragon could fit in here," Solomon commented, "but he's far too big."

Ishizu went to the group in relief. "Your arrival was just the distraction we needed," she exclaimed.

"I'm sure glad we made it!" Téa declared. "But what do we do with this sicko now?"

"I say we try again to take a hostage." Seto hauled Crump up and pulled his hands behind his back.

Téa cringed. "We have to take him with us?!"

"It makes sense to me," Solomon shrugged.

"Or we could take him with us," Ishizu said. She looked pleadingly at the others. "Where is Marik? I thought he was with you, Kaiba!"

"He was, until Lector used a tornado to blow everybody into different locations," Seto said in annoyance. "We don't know where he is now either. Or Mokuba." He turned, marching Crump towards the doors.

Crump stirred but didn't try to get away. "You think you're so smart, don't you, Seto Kaiba."

"I know I'm smarter than you and your cronies," Seto coolly answered.

"You may not think so before this is over," Crump crowed.

"Just what are you talking about?!" Seto tightened his grip on Crump's wrists.

"Just that the Big Five is hardly licked yet," Crump crowed. "And even if you defeat each one of us, we still have more surprises in store!"

"That's not a surprise," Seto retorted. "I already figured on that."

"At least you've been taken down, bird brain," Téa scowled.

Crump just chuckled. "We'll see about that," he said ominously.

"Oh dear. . . ." Bakura tensed. Such overconfidence upon capture was not likely to be a good thing for any of them.

"Anyway," Crump grinned, "I can't be too upset about being caught when I'm surrounded by lovely ladies."

"Hmph," said Mai. "Well, at least you have a good eye for beauty."

They stepped outside. It was night now, and fake snow was falling from the overcast sky. The nearby penguins continued to play on glaciers and roofs, and sometimes on cars. One of them slid down Mai's windshield.

"Hey!" Mai cried. "Get off of that!"

The penguin just warbled in reply.

"We'll take Mr. Crump in our van," Ishizu said.

"But I'll come with you," Seto said. "I know this lunatic, while you don't."

"Well, have fun, kids." Mai looked to Téa. "So, who are you riding with, Téa? I can tell you'd like to be as far away from Crump as possible."

"You've got that right," Téa shuddered. "Maybe I'll come with you, Mai. It's really a surprise to see you back. A nice surprise," she added.

Mai smiled. "It's nice that people feel that way. I'm glad to be back, although it feels strange too."

Everyone got into their respective vehicles. Téa sat up front with Mai, while Solomon got into the back with Bakura. When Rishid drove off in the van, Mai moved into position behind him. The bikers followed behind her, although Valon drove up on his motorcycle to ride next to her again.

"I'm sure you'll quickly get into the swings of things," Téa told Mai. "We'll all be happy to welcome you back!"

"Well, except maybe Tristan," Mai said with a rueful smile. "I ran into him earlier and he wasn't so thrilled. But you can't blame him; he's worried I might hurt Joey again."

Téa blinked in surprised confusion. "Tristan didn't mention anything about meeting you," she said. "I wonder if that was also why he was so uptight. . . ."

"Probably," Mai said. "That and thinking Bakura was dead would do it." She glanced at the boy in the rearview mirror. Bakura, not realizing he was being watched, was gazing worriedly out the car and off to the side.

Téa looked down. "Yeah. . . ."

Mai smiled a bit. "I always did think Bakura had a cute face. Except when he dueled. Then he looked cruel. But it was hard to believe there was an evil spirit controlling him then. I just figured he had a game face. Maybe a game personality too. Now, though, after everything, yeah, I can believe there was another person altogether."

"And you'll meet him, with any luck," Téa said. "He has to be around here somewhere. . . ."

Without warning, Rishid swerved to the side up ahead. Stunned, Mai swerved with him. "What's going on?!"

Bakura came to attention. "Oh no!" he gasped. "It's Joey's dragon!"

Indeed, Red Eyes was lying sprawled in the road and across the opposite sidewalks. He roared as the groups approached and slowly got up, revealing he was shielding Joey and Serenity under his wings.

"Joey!" Mai cried. Immediately she stopped and got out, running over to the scene. Alarmed, many of the others chased after her.

Joey stirred at the sound of high-heels on the pavement. "Who's that?" he mumbled.

Serenity also stirred. "Mai?" she whispered, catching sight of the purple boots.

Mai dropped to her knees in front of Joey, while Téa hurried to tend to Serenity. "Joey, are you alright?!"

The voice penetrated Joey's consciousness and went deep into his soul. "It can't be," he rasped. "Mai?!" He woke up more, staring at his long-lost friend. "Mai, it really is you! You've come back!" He beamed, looking thoroughly close to outright glomping her in sheer joy.

Mai gazed at him. Her smile was both happy and sad, as were her eyes. "Yes, Joey, I've come back." She had hurt him so much, far more than any of the others, and yet here he was, overjoyed to see her, just as everyone had told her he would be. Just as she had really known he would be, even though a frightened part of her had still doubted.

"Why? How?" Joey exclaimed. "I mean, you just didn't wanna come back. Not even Serenity and Duke could convince you. . . ."

"I know." Mai sighed. "I wish now that I had come back with them. Instead I just wandered around, doing a few more odd jobs for Pegasus and dueling in any tournaments that came along. And I found myself in Los Angeles."

Serenity, who was by now also awake, looked over with a start. "Did you see Snakes?"

Joey cringed a bit at the mention of the scruffy gambler who had become close friends with Duke, Serenity, and David.

"I did," Mai said. "But more than that, I saw Jean-Claude Magnum."

Now Joey made an even more pronounced face of distaste. "Mr. Personality himself?! What did you go seeing him for?!"

"Well, it wasn't on purpose!" Mai shot back. "He was playing poker in the casino where Snakes works!"

"Oh." Joey rocked back. "So . . . what happened?"

Mai sobered. "I saw that he was just the same as before, thinking money and fame were the answers to everything. He still wanted to marry me and challenged me to another duel. This time I turned him down. Seeing him gave me an epiphany I should have had ages ago—we were more alike than I had ever wanted to admit or think."

"You, like him?!" Joey cut in. "That's crazy talk!"

"I'm trying to make a point here!" Mai exclaimed in frustration. She folded her arms and continued. "I thought dueling was always the answer, just as he still thinks money and fame are. I thought becoming a better Duelist would make me feel worthy to come back and face everyone I'd hurt. That was just stupid, Joey. It was just plain stupid. No matter how many duels I won, I still felt empty inside, just like I did after Battle City. All the duels in the world weren't going to take away what I'd done. If I'd come back with a prize trophy from a prestigious tournament and said, 'Look at this, Joey; I've finally made it back to the big leagues,' it wouldn't erase all the pain I brought on you. And I knew you wouldn't care if there was a trophy anyway. Well, you'd be happy for me, but you'd be just as happy to see me without the trophy. Valon would too." She glanced to Valon, who was leaning on his motorcycle handlebars and listening. "So I came back."

Joey just looked at her. "I never thought I'd be grateful to Jean-Claude Magnum for anything," he said. "He tried to take you away before. Now, weirdly, he brought you back. And you're right, Mai. I don't care how many trophies you win, unless that's all you want. I'm glad it's not. Welcome home." He smiled.

 _Home. . . ._ Mai had never lived in Domino, but she couldn't think of any other place she really wanted to call home. Now it really could be.

"I know I can never make up for what I did to you, Joey," she said softly. "I am so sorry. But that really sounds trite after everything I did. Trite, and the biggest understatement I could ever make. Tristan told me you worried that you'd been a bad friend, but that isn't true!" She looked at him with urgency in her eyes, desperate for him to understand the truth. "You were the best friend anyone could ever have! You almost got yourself killed trying to save me, more than once! And I . . . I betrayed you. . . ." Tears pricked her eyes.

"You didn't, Mai." Joey reached out, placing his hands on either side of her face. "The Orichalcos made you say and do some seriously messed-up stuff, but that wasn't you. _This_ is you! This is my friend."

"Joey . . ." Mai smiled. "Thank you."

Serenity beamed. "I'm so glad!"

"While this is all very touching, don't you think you should do something sensible, like get out of the road?"

Everyone jumped as Seto suddenly entered the conversation. He was standing outside the Ishtars' van, arms folded.

Téa scowled. "Kaiba . . . !"

"He's right." Mai stood. "Let's get out of here, everyone. We have to find the others before anything else goes wrong. The Big Five must be planning more trouble, from what Crump said."

"You found Crump?!" Joey sprang up.

"We sure did," Téa grimaced, "and he's just as _charming_ as ever."

"How about we rearrange the seating arrangements?" Solomon said kindly. "Joey and Serenity can ride with Mai. Bakura and I can go with the Ishtars and Kaiba. Or with Raphael and Alister."

"Yes, let's," Bakura nodded.

"That's a great idea," Serenity beamed.

Soon everyone had rearranged their positions and they were resuming their journey. There were still more loved ones to find, and with four of the Big Five at large, they were just as worried as ever. But with Mai safely back with them, several hearts were filled with joy as well.

xxxx

Yugi groaned, staring dazedly up into the sky as awareness returned. Through the bubble over the city, he could see it was night. And it was still overcast; there were no stars or moon.

"Atem?" he called.

"I'm here, Yugi." Atem came and stood over his friend. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so. And you?" Yugi sat up.

"I'm fine." Atem looked worried. "But the others aren't here."

Yugi sat up with a shot. "Oh no!"

"We had best start looking for them," Atem said. "They could be in grave danger."

Yugi nodded and got up. "I wonder why the Big Five haven't seemed that interested in us this time," he said as they started walking. "Last time, they were after us for revenge."

"That, and Noa thought defeating us would help prove his worth," Atem said. "I'm not sure why they seem so disinterested in us. You thought Gansley was watching us, but when he appeared, he only wanted to duel Kaiba. Of course, Kaiba was their enemy first. But it also seems like they're unusually interested in Yami Bakura. Bakura is missing, possibly dead, and Johnson took great pleasure in goading Yami Bakura about it until he snapped."

"Yeah, but why?" Yugi frowned. "If they're after the Infinity Ring, why wouldn't they want the Puzzle too?"

"I don't know." Atem frowned too.

"I also kind of wonder what the backstory of the Infinity Items is," Yugi said. "And when they were made, and how. I mean, the infinity symbol has only been around since the 17th century, but that tablet Professor Hawkins found looks ancient!"

"Well, there have been other, similar symbols through the ages, such as the ouroboros," Atem said. "So they may reflect that. On the other hand . . ." He paused. "Even after spending time in the afterlife, I confess that I don't know Shadi's backstory. He is a very mysterious character. Part of me has sometimes wondered if he is a time-traveler. Perhaps the items are ancient, but Shadi had some part in their creation and he knew of the infinity symbol because at some point he time-traveled to when it was used."

Yugi stared at him. "That's a really interesting idea! Maybe that's possible."

"Yes, but it hardly helps with our current problem," Atem sighed. "Now we're approaching the cemetery and there's still no sign of our friends."

"Wait!" Yugi stopped walking. "I think I hear voices!"

Atem stopped too, hope flashing through his eyes. He heard them too, and he recognized them.

xxxx

Tristan was still silent as he and Yami Bakura wandered down the cemetery's rolling hills, their Duel Monsters in tow. He wasn't sure at all how to respond to Yami Bakura's words that he could come to think of all of them as his friends, or whether or not he could say that he felt he could reciprocate.

By now, Yami Bakura didn't expect an answer at all and didn't push it. Instead he said, "You've never even had that much association with Bakura. After Duelist Kingdom, he went back to being a loner and you never made a great deal of effort to include him in anything. The same thing happened after Battle City. And yet you became so upset when you heard of the explosion. Why?"

Tristan looked away. It was a fair question, but he didn't like it. The reason why he didn't like it, however, was because he didn't want to answer rather than that he thought Yami Bakura didn't have the right to ask.

"I always thought of Bakura as a friend," he said. "He was a nice kid."

"He was the same age as you, yet you talk as though you were older," Yami Bakura remarked.

"Maybe he seemed younger, like someone to be protected," Tristan said. "Especially after we knew about you."

"Yet that doesn't change the fact that you mostly let him stay a loner," Yami Bakura said. "If you really wanted to protect him, you wouldn't have stayed away so often. You helped him if he was right in front of you, but otherwise you didn't. Out of sight, out of mind."

Tristan glowered at the grass and at the tombstones they were passing. Yami Bakura was right, and he didn't like it.

"I did what I could," he said at last. "When that didn't work, I guess I was out of ideas. And he seemed to want to be alone, so I guess I just . . . let him." His shoulders slumped.

"The only reason he 'wanted' to be alone was because he felt he needed to protect you and the others," Yami Bakura said. "He abhorred being alone. For him, that was worse than anything else. To be honest, rather than being younger than any of you, if anything, he was older and more mature."

The immediate response that sprang to Tristan's lips was angry and impulsive. Somehow he managed to bite it back enough to reply, "I think any of us would have done the same thing in his place."

"Perhaps," Yami Bakura nodded.

"And I think we've shown some pretty good maturity too. Like how Joey wanted the Duelist Kingdom prize money for Serenity's eye operation. It's not like he's rolling in dough. There were probably a lot of things he might have liked to get for himself, but he wanted to help Serenity more."

"Naturally, when you truly love someone, you put them first and you're not truly happy if you don't," Yami Bakura said. "And yes, I will agree that was a mature act on Joey's part."

Tristan fell silent. "Hey, wait a minute," he frowned suddenly. "If Bakura hated being alone more than anything else . . ." He stared at Yami Bakura, who averted his gaze.

"I shouldn't have said that."

Tristan didn't drop it. "He said he hated you. But he never did, did he?"

"He thought he did, at times," Yami Bakura said noncommittally.

"I wonder if that's why the Ring always came back," Tristan frowned. "Because subconsciously he didn't want to let it and you go. He wanted you around because then he wasn't alone."

"You said that, not I," Yami Bakura said. "But even if he had such a reason then, it wasn't his reason more recently."

"I know. He loves you. He made that pretty clear to all of us when Yami Marik kidnapped you."

"And it's mutual." Yami Bakura looked to him again. "But the point I was originally trying to get at is wondering whether there was something else that fueled your reaction to the news about Bakura, something that was already making you upset so that the news about Bakura pushed you over the edge."

Tristan scowled. ". . . Yeah, I guess there was. This mess with the Big Five is more than enough reason to be stressed, and then I ran into somebody today I wasn't so thrilled to see." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm just worried they might hurt a friend of mine again, like I was worried when I found out you were back."

"Perhaps they will," Yami Bakura said, "and then again, perhaps they won't. Are you planning to inform your friend of their return?"

"I don't know. I know I should, but part of me figures I should leave it up to them to make the next move. I mean, if they've really come back for a good reason, like they said, then I think they should find my friend and talk to him. Maybe by keeping quiet, I'm kind of trying to test them and their sincerity."

"That isn't a bad plan, at least for the time being. If you tell your friend now, he may get his hopes up, and if the person isn't sincere and doesn't come to him, your friend will be needlessly disappointed."

"Yeah, that's kind of what I'm thinking," Tristan said.

"It's a mature plan," Yami Bakura said. "For now, just wait and see what unfolds."

Tristan nodded. "I will." It surprised him, how natural it felt to have such a conversation with Yami Bakura, of all people. And he liked that Yami Bakura had not pressed him for details on the people's identities. Even a few weeks ago, he never could have pictured such a thing.

That was when Yugi called out to them. "Tristan! Yami Bakura!"

They jumped a mile. "Yugi!" Tristan ran over to the iron gate and gripped the bars. "Who all's with you?! Are you okay?!"

"It's me and Atem," Yugi said, "and yeah, we're fine! How are you guys?"

"We're fine too. At least, as fine as we can be," Tristan amended as Yami Bakura came over. "We need a way to get out of here."

"If the front gate is open, that shouldn't be a problem," Yami Bakura grunted.

Atem nodded. "We'll walk along the gate with you until we come to the front. We should all stay together to go look for the others."

"Fine with me." Tristan started to walk. "Uh . . . how much did you guys hear?"

"Not much," Yugi said. "I called to you as soon as I realized it was your voices we were hearing."

Yami Bakura nodded in approval.

Soon they found their way to the front gate, which was indeed open. Relieved, Tristan ran outside, followed quickly by Yami Bakura.

"Now, we just have to decide which way to go to look for the others," Atem said.

"Oh, I can help you with that."

They jumped a mile as Lector materialized in front of them.

"Lector!" Yugi cried indignantly. "Where are they?! Are they hurt?!"

"I don't think I'm gonna tell you," Lector said. "I'll just take you to some of them."

"What's the catch?" Atem coldly asked.

"The catch is that you'll be pulled into the duel of a lifetime, Pharaoh," Lector grinned. "A duel against all five of us."

"Well, that sounds familiar," Yugi frowned. "But you're not going to make him face all of you alone?!"

"No, I don't think so," Lector said. "Each one of us will choose somebody to duel alongside you, so it will be the ultimate tag team duel! Five on five!"

"I know someone will choose Kaiba," Yugi said worriedly.

"And I won't be surprised if Joey is picked," Tristan said.

"Just keep walking and we'll see who's picked," Lector said. He started off down the street.

"Of course it's a trap," Yami Bakura growled.

"Yes," Atem said. "But we have no choice. We must go with him. We knew we'd have to face the Big Five anyway in order to be set free of their world."

"Yeah, but I just know this is going to be bad," Yugi said.

"We will still defeat them," Atem insisted. "We've faced far greater odds and triumphed."

Yugi could only nod and pray that would be true this time as well.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

The rest of the Big Five had gathered back in their augmented reality conference room to converse.

"So now Crump's been captured and you were mind-controlled by that white-haired brat," Nesbitt said, glowering at Gansley.

"I had no idea he had that card on him, or that he would use it," Gansley snorted. "He seemed like far too much of a gentle weakling."

"You should never underestimate those gentle weaklings," Johnson intoned, pushing up his glasses. "Crump said he can become fierce when his loved ones are threatened!"

"You shouldn't underestimate ancient Egyptian vigilantes who adore their descendants either," Nesbitt retorted. "Lector warned us about pushing that man too far."

Johnson snorted and looked away, uncomfortable.

"Nevermind all that," Gansley interrupted. "I'm sure we can all agree that we have been going about this very poorly. But our ultimate tag team duel will give us a chance to redeem ourselves. All we need to do is pick five Duelists to go up against. Of course, we all know we want Seto Kaiba. I also want Yugi involved."

"Little Yugi or the Pharaoh?" Johnson asked.

"Both of them, really," Gansley said.

"No fair you having two choices," Nesbitt snapped.

"Well, who do you two want?" Gansley retorted. "Joey Wheeler again?"

Johnson looked uneasy. "Frankly, I'm not sure who to pick. Perhaps that Mai Valentine woman. We never have taken revenge on her even though she was part of trapping us in the virtual reality world to begin with."

"Then maybe I'll choose Joey Wheeler," Nesbitt said. "I say we should focus our revenge first on everyone who was involved with that first incident. After they're defeated, we can go after the next tier of Duelists."

"What about little Mokuba?" Gansley asked. "He was most certainly involved that first time."

"Yes, but he isn't much of a Duelist," Johnson said.

"No matter," Nesbitt sneered. "I know how to get Mokuba involved in a different way."

"Oh?" Gansley raised an eyebrow. "Do tell."

Nesbitt's sneer only widened. And as he described his cold plan, Gansley and Johnson were quick to agree. It was perfect.

xxxx

Marik was tense as he drove up and down the streets in search of everyone else. It shouldn't be that hard, really. And with Wingweaver searching the skies, that should in theory make it even easier. Instead, they were all baffled.

"I don't know what we're going to do, Marik," Mokuba lamented, shifting Revival Jam on his lap. "We can't find them anywhere!"

"Yes, and the city looks so different, I can barely figure out where we're going," Marik frowned.

"We should have run into some of them by now," Duke said. "You guys said that Johnson fixed it so you were in the same space as Yami Bakura, but you couldn't see he was there. Maybe Lector's doing the same thing now."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Marik said. "But if that's the case, we won't find anyone until the Big Five want us to find them. That's never a good sign."

"I know." Duke slumped back, holding a hand to his forehead.

"If they're keeping us out of all of the action, maybe it really does mean they're sending everybody into the climax," Mokuba worried.

"Oh, you're going to be part of the action."

Everyone jumped at Nesbitt's cruel voice. The man suddenly appeared in front of the car, forcing Marik to throw on the brakes.

"So the coward is back," Duke scoffed.

"You weren't man enough to take a loss, so you just left," David added.

"I'm back now, although you won't likely appreciate the genius of my plan until later." Nesbitt touched the hood of the car with both hands.

"We won't appreciate it at all," Mokuba shot back.

Then the scenery changed. Now they were outside of the car, standing on a concrete floor inside a dark and unwelcoming building. The Dark Magicians were not with them.

"What is this?!" Marik demanded indignantly.

"I just needed to get you out of the way for a while," Nesbitt said, "but make no mistake, your role in our adventure is vital to its success."

"Somehow I don't like the sound of that," David cringed.

"Me either," Mokuba frowned. "What is this place?!"

"Try to get out all you want," Nesbitt taunted. "You'll never find the exit in time!" Then he was gone.

Duke was deeply frowning. "It looks like some kind of a warehouse," he said. "But it's probably like that castle Tristan and I were stuck in. We couldn't get out until Noa was willing to let us go."

"Well," Marik said, "we're just going to have to try anyway."

Mokuba nodded in agreement. He released Revival Jam and ran ahead.

"Mokuba, wait!" Marik called. "We need to stay together!" He picked up Revival Jam and gave chase.

David looked to Duke. "So, where do you think our wayward Magicians are this time?"

"Who knows," Duke said in frustration. "Maybe their magic failed them again, or maybe Nesbitt deliberately didn't transport them with us." He twirled a piece of hair around his finger. "But if they're back with the car, they'd better not try to drive it!"

"It's nice to see you have things in the proper perspective," David quipped as they chased after the other members of their group.

Duke grunted. "Honestly, if they drive as badly as they teleport, someone could get seriously hurt if they're behind the wheel."

". . . Good point," David conceded.

xxxx

Seto glowered at Crump, his eyes daggers of suspicion, as Rishid steered the Ishtars' van up and down the streets in search of more loved ones. Crump, in typical fashion, was taking great pleasure in taunting all of them and trying to flirt with Ishizu, who was absolutely not impressed.

"Really, I wonder why I can't ever find a girl who likes the cold," Crump smirked. "It seems like you should, my dear, since you've perfected the art of frosty behavior!"

"I see no reason why I would behave any differently with you, after all that you have done," Ishizu coolly responded.

"Can it, Crump," Seto growled. "No one cares about you or your misplaced interests."

"Maybe you should get some similar interests," Crump sneered. "But no, you always have to be interested in work and not girls."

Seto snorted. "I barely have time for the important things in life. As if I'd take away from that for something as frivolous as a romantic attachment."

"It wouldn't have to be an attachment," Crump grinned wickedly. "You could try a new girl each day."

Seto's expression contorted in disgust.

"What about friendship?" Crump went on. "Did you ever get around to admitting those people are your friends?"

"What business is that of yours?!" Seto snapped.

"Ooh, I see I've hit a sore spot," Crump cackled. "Just what I was hoping for."

Seto scowled. He finally had admitted, privately, that Yugi and the rest were his friends. That was one thing his fight with that insane serial killer had made him see. But it was true, he still hadn't said a word about it aloud. And he certainly wasn't going to in the presence of any of the Big Five. The last thing he needed was for them to realize that they could use even more people against him in addition to Mokuba.

Without warning Crump stood in the van, breaking the ropes with which Seto had bound his wrists. "Now . . . !"

"Mr. Crump, sit down!" Ishizu cried.

"I don't think so." Instead, Crump placed his hands on Seto's shoulders and they both teleported out.

Rishid slammed on the brakes. "What just happened?!"

Ishizu was staring at the empty space behind the front seats. "I don't know," she gasped. "I think Mr. Crump just took Kaiba somewhere!"

Behind them, Mai's car also screeched to a halt. "Mai's gone!" Téa shrieked. "And so is Joey!"

Ishizu turned to look out the window. Téa had been forced to leap over the seat, grab the wheel, and bring the car to a halt. She was still clutching it, breathing heavily, her face pale. In the backseat, Serenity looked the same.

"Holy Moly!" Valon yelped. "It's true; they just up and blinked out of the car!"

"Oh my," Bakura gasped.

"I am afraid the Big Five are going ahead with the next stage of their plan," Ishizu exclaimed. "And apparently we are not part of it!"

"Well, we've gotta find where they are!" Téa cried. "Our friends are part of it! Our family too."

Rishid nodded. "We'll find them." He started driving again.

"Hey . . ." Serenity looked worriedly to Téa. "You don't have your license yet, do you?"

"No," Téa admitted. "I've been saving all my money for dance lessons!"

"Hoo boy." Valon looked back at the blue sedan. "Hey, Alister, can you come drive Mai's car?" he called.

Looking slightly put-out, Alister got out of their car and walked over. "Yes."

Relieved, Téa slid over. "Thanks."

Alister nodded and took the wheel.

Once again, the other vehicles set out behind the van. By now, the occupants were even more worried about their loved ones' safety.

xxxx

Yugi's group had walked for several blocks when Lector abruptly stopped, spun around, and faced them with a cruel glint in his eyes.

"Alright," he intoned. "This is as far as we go."

"What?!" Atem frowned. "Why? I don't see anyone else!"

"Oh, we'll be seein' them very soon now," Lector sneered. With that, he abruptly vanished, taking Yugi and Atem with him.

"What the . . . ?! Yugi! Atem!" Tristan ran forward to the spot. "Oh man, I can't believe this! They're completely gone!"

Yami Bakura snarled. "Apparently the Big Five has grown tired of us and wants to focus on other prey."

Tristan clenched a fist. "I'll give them something to prey on! Come on, we have to find them!" With that he took off running ahead.

"Tristan, wait!" Yami Bakura tore after him. "We have to think this through! Where would the Big Five be most likely to take them?!"

"I don't know!" Tristan called back. "Unless maybe it's KaibaCorp!"

"That isn't a bad guess!" Yami Bakura told him. "But it's all the way downtown! Let's go home and we'll take Bakura's father's van!"

Tristan stumbled to a halt. "Can you find your way back home with the way the neighborhood looks right now?"

"Yes," Yami Bakura insisted. "Bakura and I walked through most of the neighborhood earlier today. We're not far from home!"

Tristan sighed. "Alright. It would definitely go faster that way."

Yami Bakura was right. Within five minutes they were turning onto a familiar street and going up to a familiar house. But instead of going inside, Yami Bakura went for the garage. He quickly unlocked it and the van and climbed inside. Dark Necrofear and Electric Lizard slipped onto the middle row.

Tristan got in next to Yami Bakura and his stomach dropped. ". . . I just realized. This is my first time riding with you driving."

Yami Bakura chuckled, pulling down his seatbelt. "Nervous?"

"I'd be lying if I said No," Tristan retorted.

"I have a license, you know," Yami Bakura said.

"So do a lot of people who shouldn't have one," Tristan said.

Yami Bakura just laughed. He pulled out of the driveway, probably too fast, and then leaned out the window to automatically close the garage with the door opener. Before Tristan could brace himself, Yami Bakura sped out and down the street.

Tristan screamed. "You're only supposed to drive 25 miles per hour on residential streets!"

Yami Bakura slowed. "Ah, you're right."

Tristan scowled. "You're messing with me again, aren't you."

"Perhaps." Yami Bakura shifted gears and turned the corner.

To his credit, he actually was a good driver. He kept within the speed limit and didn't make any dangerous moves—at least not until a Vorse Raider got in the way in the business district and he was forced to wildly swerve, taking the van half along the sidewalk and taking out a stop sign while he was at it. The sound of a resulting police siren behind them caused him to swear under his breath.

"Oh great," Tristan moaned, covering his eyes.

"Surely they'll realize it wasn't my fault," Yami Bakura growled, gripping the steering wheel as the officer approached with a flashlight. Sullen, he rolled down the window.

"Can I see your driver's license?" the officer asked.

Yami Bakura grunted but took it out of his pocket. "You saw that beast in the road, I trust. I had to swerve to avoid it."

"I saw it." But when the policeman saw the license, he leaned down and stared at the picture. "That doesn't look like you."

A smirk, and the Ring glowed. "How about now?" Yami Bakura replied as he shifted to his Egyptian form.

The policeman dropped the flashlight and turned pale. "What the . . . ?!"

"Now, if you will excuse us, we're on a rescue mission. If we succeed, the city should get back to normal." Yami Bakura sped off, being careful to keep to the speed limit.

"Oh man," Tristan groaned when they were out of earshot.

Yami Bakura laughed. "I believe we sufficiently rattled him."

"I don't know whether I feel sorry for him or not," Tristan said. "But I hope you won't do that again!"

"I will if it needs to be done," Yami Bakura said, even as he switched back to his other form. "You should be thanking me for getting us out of that fix."

"Okay. Thanks," Tristan shot back. "But didn't you ever think that might happen if you were pulled over while you were in the form you just switched back to again?!"

"I can't say I did," Yami Bakura retorted.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Tristan muttered.

"Relax," Yami Bakura told him. "It's not a big deal."

"And just what if that guy finds a reason to arrest you?" Tristan demanded. "Or us?"

"What reason could he possibly have?" Yami Bakura snorted. "Oh, he might still fine me for the stop sign, but can I be arrested for turning from Eurasian to Egyptian and back again? Can you be arrested as an accessory to it?"

Tristan flushed at how preposterous it sounded. "Well, no," he admitted.

"Then don't worry so much," Yami Bakura said. "You may end up laughing about it later."

Somehow Tristan couldn't picture that. "You probably will," he retorted.

"I'm laughing about it right now," Yami Bakura said.

But he quickly sobered. Tristan had deduced correctly that he was trying to hide his pain. Suddenly it hit him how amusing it would have been if this incident had happened with Bakura as his passenger, and that unless some miracle happened, such a thing could never happen. The boy he loved so dearly was gone. If he was alive, Yami Bakura would never give up searching until he was found. And if he was dead . . . well, then he would have to find a way to properly punish the Big Five, instead of just dealing momentary damage to their holographic bodies. And after that . . . he honestly didn't know what.

". . . Why did you immediately switch back again?" Tristan asked. "We could get stopped by the cops again and the whole thing will play out all over a second time!"

Yami Bakura was silent. "I would rather be in this form right now." He didn't elaborate and Tristan didn't press, but Tristan had also been partially right when he had speculated in the past that Yami Bakura liked this form because it helped him feel close to Bakura. When he was so grief-stricken over Bakura, he preferred this form over the one that made him think about how long he had been around.

"Hey," Tristan perked up as they neared the downtown area. "There's KaibaCorp. And it looks like maybe there's people on the roof?!"

Yami Bakura growled. "I wouldn't be surprised." He pulled over to the curb and got out.

As Tristan followed, several large screens appeared, suspended in mid-air in front of the KaibaCorp building and showing the roof from several different angles. Yugi, Atem, Joey, Mai, and Seto were all standing there, confused and angry. The Big Five were standing across from them.

"Well, now we're all here," Gansley sneered. "And now we're going to duel."

"No way!" Tristan gasped. "They're going to duel on the roof!"

Yami Bakura narrowed his eyes. That brought back some memories he would rather forget.

"What can we do?!" Tristan cried. "We've gotta stop this! Somebody could get blasted off the roof and be done for!"

"And just how do you propose to stop it?" Yami Bakura retorted. "We don't have any flying monsters. And if we go inside the KaibaCorp building, we will most likely be stopped by a myriad of traps!"

"So what do you think we're gonna do? Just stand here and watch?!" Tristan snapped.

"For now, yes," Yami Bakura said. "Those are some of the best Duelists around. They can hold their own. And the roof is a safe enough place to duel."

"Maybe under ordinary circumstances, but this is hardly ordinary," Tristan exclaimed. "I'm sure the Big Five have everything booby-trapped up there as well as inside!"

"Joey has a Red Eyes Black Dragon," Yami Bakura said. "It may find its way over here and it can catch anyone who falls."

"Yeah, maybe," Tristan frowned. "Mai has a Baby Dragon too. But I don't see them around. The Big Five probably separated them from their monsters!"

Yami Bakura had to admit that seemed to be true. "They can take care of themselves even without real monsters," he said.

"Oh yeah?" Tristan retorted. "Well, take another look!" He pointed at the screen.

Yami Bakura looked, and swore under his breath.

xxxx

Seto was not in good spirits. It had already been one of the worst days of his life when he had hoped it would be one of the best. So far, the entire city was under siege due to the Big Five's grudge against him, Bakura had been hurt and Yami Bakura thought he was dead, Mokuba was missing, Seto had been taunted by Crump, and now he had been pulled into a life-or-death duel against his will along with several of the others.

It wasn't a surprise to find himself with Yugi, Atem, and Joey at any rate. But he was definitely surprised to see the fifth person the Big Five had pulled into their new sick scheme. "Mai Valentine?!" he exclaimed.

"That's right," Mai said, averting her gaze. "I sure picked a crazy day to finally come back, didn't I?"

"Hey, this is just par for the course in Domino City," Joey said.

"I can't argue with that," Mai smirked a bit.

Atem glowered at their enemies. "Alright. So now you have what you want and we're all here to duel you. Let's get it over with."

"Or do you have any more schemes we should know about first?!" Yugi added.

"Well, now that you mention it . . ." Gansley started to sneer.

"We happened to collect a friend or two in this place, just like many of you did," Crump said.

"Oh yeah?! How come we don't see them?!" Joey demanded.

"You will, Joseph." Johnson adjusted his glasses with a calm and collected smirk. "And while we can't actually summon him into the game right away, I'm sure his very presence will be more than enough to shake all of you up."

A huge shadow fell over all of them from above.

"Oh no," Atem gasped.

Seto went stiff. "It's not . . . !"

"Affirmative," Nesbitt sneered. "Our Five-Headed Dragon!"

The treacherous beast landed behind the Big Five with a mighty flap of wings. All five elemental heads roared.

"And rest assured," Lector drawled, "we _will_ be summoning him into our duel. One head to eliminate each one of you!"


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

Mokuba was both panicking and angry as he desperately searched for the way out of the mysterious warehouse. It was indeed like one of Noa's traps; there seemed to be no way out as long as the Big Five willed it so. The windows, when he ran to look out of them, seemed to lead to nowhere. And any attempt at breaking them with crates or splintered wood went nowhere.

"What am I gonna do?!" he wailed to himself. "I have to get out of here! Seto needs me! And if I know the Big Five, they're gonna try to use me against him again!" He kicked the wall in utter frustration and despair.

Marik caught up to him then. "Mokuba, running off isn't going to help," he gently chided. "We need to stay together. There's no telling what the Big Five are going to do next!"

"Maybe not, but I'm sure they're planning to use me against Seto somehow," Mokuba said. "I get so sick of it." He plopped down on the nearest crate and leaned forward, gripping at the knees of his pants. "Seto tries so hard to make sure I have a normal life, and all these creeps who hate him make him feel horrible by making sure I don't have a normal life!"

Marik sighed and knelt down in front of his friend. He couldn't deny it. Worse, he had been one of those people in the past. Even though he hadn't had anything against Seto, he had used Mokuba against him in an effort to get Obelisk.

"If I could just find a way out of here, Seto wouldn't have to worry so much," Mokuba continued.

"You escaped the Rare Hunters during Battle City," Marik said kindly. "And you did all you could to escape Pegasus before that."

"Yeah. . . ." Mokuba sighed. "I got caught again by Pegasus, but I steered clear of the Rare Hunters and got back to Seto. I guess I can be grateful about that."

"Of course you can." Marik laid a hand on Mokuba's shoulder. "And maybe there is a way out of this mess. It's part of a game. A twisted game, but a game nevertheless. We both played through your brother's original version. Can you think of what this warehouse could be a corrupted version of?"

Mokuba frowned, pausing to think. "Well . . . there is that level in Seto's game where you and your Duel Monster have to go undercover to catch crooks. Seto designed some warehouses for that."

"Good!" Marik perked up. "Then let's approach this mess as though we're in one of those warehouses. Maybe we'll find the solution."

Mokuba started to look hopeful too. "But . . . we only have Revival Jam," he worried. "Maybe he won't be able to help us get out of here. Seto designed the different locations so that different Duel Monsters would be good for each of them. I think this place was supposed to be more for Fire monsters, not Water ones."

"We'll do what we can," Marik said firmly. "Revival Jam has been good to us so far. Let's trust in him some more."

Mokuba finally smiled. "Okay." He got down from the crate. "What do you think, Revival Jam? Can you find a way out?"

The plasma monster wobbled, jumped out of Marik's arms, and hopped off down the aisle. Marik and Mokuba hurried after him.

Duke and David followed farther behind. "I don't know," David worried. "Since the Big Five took the Magicians away and left us with Revival Jam, they must have thought the Magicians could have helped us and Revival Jam can't."

"I know," Duke frowned, "but we have to trust in him, like Marik said. Right now, we don't have much other choice."

"I'm really not crazy about leaving our fate in the hands of a blob," David said.

Duke didn't laugh. "Let's just hope he surprises us."

xxxx

Téa was surprised when two Dark Magicians and a Wingweaver suddenly appeared in front of Mai's car. "Whoa!"

Alister slammed on the brakes. "What's going on?" he demanded.

"Hello," the Dark Magician greeted. "We're looking for our friends."

"Duke and David?" Téa sighed. "So are we. And everyone else who isn't here with us."

Solomon rolled down the window of the bikers' car. "Well, you know," he called, "we might try checking KaibaCorp."

"KaibaCorp?" Téa twisted around in the seat to look at him. "Why is that, Mr. Muto?"

"KaibaCorp was where I was being held prisoner!" Bakura exclaimed. "I think it's where the Big Five are running all of this madness. They took Kaiba, Joey, and Mai. I might venture to say they're preparing for some sort of duel and want to go up against those three. Probably Yugi too!"

Solomon nodded. "Bakura was telling us all about it. It sounds logical to me!"

"Oh, to me too," Téa moaned.

"Joey . . . !" Serenity's eyes filled with even more worry for her missing brother.

Valon looked over at her. "Hey, don't worry," he soothed. "Your brother can really hold his own in a duel. He'll be fine."

Serenity tried to smile. "I know he doesn't lose very often, but no one wins all the time." She looked down. "And these guys are so awful. . . ."

"We're going to find them," Alister promised. "I'll head for KaibaCorp."

"And the two of you may ride with us," Ishizu said to the Magicians, leaning out the window of the Ishtar van.

"Thank you," the Dark Magician smiled. He hauled the door open and he and Dark Magician Girl stepped onboard.

"You may come as well, unless you would rather fly," Ishizu said to the Wingweaver.

"I'll fly," she smiled. "I can help look out for more danger. I hope."

Soon the vehicles were all moving again. Bakura slumped back in the sedan's seat. "Oh, I wonder where Yami and the others are," he fretted. "Would the Big Five want them for the duel too?"

"I don't know," Solomon frowned. "If not, they were probably left high and dry like us. They could be anywhere in the city."

"On the other hand, maybe they all got the idea to rendezvous at KaibaCorp," Raphael grunted. "They might all be heading there right now."

"Let's hope so," Solomon said. "We need to find them all."

Bakura nodded sorrowfully and looked away. "Yami," he whispered. "What's happening to you? Are you feeling any better at all? Do you still think I'm dead?"

And then another alarming thought pricked him. When he finally did find Yami Bakura, how would he convince his friend that he was real and not just another Big Five trick? Yami Bakura would no doubt have a difficult time believing in reality after the cruel pranks Johnson had pulled. And it wasn't even the first time someone had done such a thing to him. Yami Marik had made him see all kinds of horrific illusions after abducting him. It had taken Bakura several hair-raising experiences to convince that poor, tortured soul that he was real after that.

"We'll find Yami Bakura and he'll be alright," Solomon said, breaking into Bakura's thoughts.

The boy started. "Oh. . . ." He gave a weak smile. "I hope so. But . . ." He hesitated, then finally continued, "When we do find him, he probably won't be able to realize I'm real. . . . Not at first, anyway. . . ."

"You'll find the way to show him," Solomon promised.

"Right now I can't even think how," Bakura said softly. "It will hurt him so deeply to think that they're playing tricks on him again. . . ."

"And it will brighten his life so immensely to find out that they're not," Solomon countered.

Bakura had to smile. "Yes. . . ." Picturing their reunion was comforting and left him all warm inside. He hoped it would be like that.

Solomon leaned back in the seat. "You know, when I met him briefly at the hospital during Battle City, I couldn't imagine who he was. I knew he wasn't you. And leaving me knocked out on the floor didn't leave me with a very good impression of him. I thought he was stealing my soul at first. Waking up on the floor some time later was quite a relief!"

"I can imagine," Bakura said. "I'm so sorry that happened."

"Eh, that was a long time ago," Solomon said. "But one thing I never have understood is why he allowed you to be hurt then."

Bakura sighed and looked up at the ceiling of the car. "I didn't either. Oh, I knew it was some scheme of Marik's to get close to Joey and Téa, and Yami went along with it because Marik had promised him the Millennium Rod and other Items. . . . But even so, I don't think Yami ever meant to actually hurt me. He intended that he would continue to stay in control so I wouldn't feel the pain. He told me later that I was never aware of it until the duel with Atem. He was pretending to be me when Marik met Joey and Téa."

"Oh?" Solomon blinked. "I was there too. I remember him . . . you . . . saying that it all happened so fast, you didn't see what happened."

"And if that had been me, I wouldn't have even known that anything happened," Bakura mused. "I would have simply woke up with my arm already wounded. Yami was making up a story to make it sound like I was in control." He shook his head. "I know it still all sounds very twisted, but Yami was being poisoned by Zorc back then. And even at that, he found ways to protect me. He never wanted me to suffer. He kept me asleep so I wouldn't know what they were doing. And he stayed in control so I wouldn't feel pain. When he briefly released me during the duel on Marik's orders and saw just how badly the wound was affecting me, he took control again." He smiled. "And now he's free of Zorc and doesn't do twisted things anymore. His love is pure and untainted."

"But he certainly likes to tease Joey and Tristan," Solomon remarked. "Oh, not that I can fully blame him. Their reactions to things can be hilarious."

"I know." Bakura chuckled a bit, but looked like he felt guilty for doing so.

Solomon folded his arms. "It's interesting how many of our group started out antagonistic towards us, starting with Seto Kaiba. Hmm." He frowned. "Although Kaiba really doesn't seem like he wants to be part of our group. But he always seems to end up with us anyway."

"I wonder if he likes it deep down," Bakura mused. "Except for when villains use them, of course."

"I couldn't say," Solomon said. "But he's sure come far from the disrespectful boy who went to all sorts of lengths to get my Blue Eyes White Dragon away from me."

"Yugi told me about that," Bakura frowned. "And how he only wanted to make sure it couldn't be used against him. But he could have given it to his brother or simply locked it away. Ripping it up right in front of you . . . ! That was so needlessly cruel!"

"I've forgiven him for that," Solomon said. "And at least by him doing that, I was able to get it back. He didn't care what happened to it after that." He took it out of his pocket. "The tape is still holding fine." He smiled. "It's one of my most cherished possessions, since my dear friend gave it to me."

"That would make it special," Bakura said, taking a moment to admire it. Despite having been ripped in half, it was still majestic. And the love and heart of it was obvious in every piece of tape.

Solomon nodded. "In the end, I don't really blame Kaiba so much for what happened as I do Gozaburo. Yugi told me all about what was learned of him in Noa's virtual reality world. That man warped and twisted Seto's soul starting from the age of ten. He heaped countless psychological pressure and damage on an innocent boy until he had become almost as heartless as Gozaburo himself. But what is extremely special is that Kaiba finally rose above it. He has become a strong person in heart and mind. I know he will help any of us out of danger if he's able. And I like to believe that one day he will finally reach out to Yugi and the others in friendship. They have certainly extended it to him, and whether all of them see it or not, it has worked on him."

"I believe it has," Bakura mused. "He's definitely different than he was in the past."

"But sometimes I even wonder about Gozaburo," Solomon said. "I remember news stories about him and Noa. I always had the feeling that Gozaburo truly loved that boy and doted on him. When Noa had his accident, I wouldn't doubt that that twisted Gozaburo's humanity right out of him."

"Yugi said that when he realized Noa would always be spoiled, even in the virtual world, he turned his attention to Seto," Bakura said. "I wonder if his approach with Seto was completely opposite because of how Noa turned out."

"Most likely," Solomon said. "But as to whether he ever truly cared about Seto, I couldn't say. The man became so twisted that he eventually wanted to blow up the world with a missile and escape virtual reality in Seto's body." He shook his head. "What a waste. He had a brilliant mind, but he misused it and everyone around him. Thinking on Gozaburo's outcome makes it even more powerful that Seto is turning out different."

"I agree," Bakura smiled.

"Actually, I think that all of those who were once our enemies have become stronger people for what they used to be and what they have become," Solomon said.

"I'd like to think so," Raphael interjected.

"Actually, Kaiba wasn't even the first," Solomon said. "Joey and Tristan used to be quite the bullies until Yugi's kindness worked on them."

"I remember hearing about that," Bakura said. "It's hard to picture it. They really have changed."

"That's one of the great things about life—the opportunity to learn and change and grow from it," Solomon said. "Everyone has, even those who weren't once fighting against us. Yugi has become such a strong young man. And so have you, Bakura."

"Me?" Bakura blinked, turning a bit red in embarrassment at the praise. "Well, I suppose I have changed, but largely because of Yami's influence. He taught me to stand up for myself."

Solomon nodded. "You helped him and he helped you. It's the same with any meaningful relationship; it's never just one way."

"No," Bakura agreed, staring off into the distance. "It couldn't be."

"And we're almost at KaibaCorp now," Solomon said, pleased. "If everyone else is there, we'll see them very soon."

Bakura prayed for that under his breath.

 _I'm coming, Yami,_ he said silently, even though he knew their mental bond no longer worked. _I'll be back with you soon. Please don't lose hope!_

xxxx

Tristan and Yami Bakura were still watching the rooftop duel via the big screens. The Big Five were trying to assemble five monsters of different attributes so that they could summon their Five-Headed Dragon to the field, but when they were up against five strong Duelists, keeping hold of five such monsters at the same time was proving impossible. Someone always had a stronger monster to attack, or a Card Destruction card, or some type of monster-destroying trap card. The Big Five were growing angry and Yugi and the rest were triumphant and pleased.

"Alright!" Joey grinned. "Take that, you creepy suits!"

Mai smirked. "Face it, you are not getting your dragon on the field this game."

"Oh really?" Gansley looked to Nesbitt and gave a barely perceptible nod. "Maybe we can't get our Five-Headed Dragon into the game as we wish, but that is hardly the only way to have it defeat you."

"What do you mean?" Seto glowered in suspicion and anger.

Gansley walked to the edge of the roof and pointed. "Do you see that building down there?"

Seto narrowed his eyes. "It's been vacant for months. What about it?"

"Oh, it's not vacant right now," Gansley crowed. "There's something very precious to you inside it."

"Fire Dragon Head, attack that building!" Nesbitt ordered before Seto could process that information.

The dragon roared and obeyed. The building erupted in fire as soon as the blast hit.

Seto's heart nearly stopped. _"MOKUBA!"_ he screamed in realization.

"Nesbitt!" Now Atem was enraged. "Is Mokuba truly in there, or are you just trying to torment Kaiba with a cruel lie?!"

"Oh, he's really in there," Nesbitt sneered. "And all of you are locked in this duel with us. If any of you try to break free and get downstairs, our dragon will destroy all of you at once!"

Every dragon head opened its mouth in readiness. It was not a bluff.

Yugi gripped his cards, his hand shaking. "This is outrageous!" he shouted. "Big Five, you are going down!"

"The fire department will have to be called," Mai said, badly shaken herself and trying to comfort Seto. "They'll put it out in time. . . ."

But Seto just kept staring in horror at the blaze. "Can they even put out a magical fire?" he rasped.

No one commented on Seto actually acknowledging the supernatural. They were all wondering the same thing. Desperate prayers for Mokuba's safety immediately began in all their hearts.

Down below, Tristan was also in horror. "Mokuba's in that thing?!" He moved to run across the street. "Then we have to get him out! Come on!"

"Tristan!" Yami Bakura snapped. "We need a plan! We can't go running in there without some idea of what to do! We'll only be lost in that inferno as well!"

"Well, what do you suggest?" Tristan shot back.

"Try to find a Water Duel Monster," Yami Bakura instructed. "The Infinity Ring will serve as a compass to Mokuba, if he is truly inside." _And if it will cooperate and not malfunction,_ he silently added. "Dark Necrofear and I will go in and look for him."

Tristan growled in frustration, but he had to concede to the logic of finding a Water Duel Monster that might be able to put out the flames. "Okay," he said. "But you'd better find him!" He took off down the street with Electric Lizard in tow.

Yami Bakura looked down at the Infinity Ring. "Alright, Ring," he growled. "Find Mokuba."

The Ring wobbled, then glowed. The beam of light circled the sky and settled on the building.

"So. He _is_ in there." Yami Bakura glared at the blaze. "Then let us venture into the fires of Hell, shall we?" Seeing Dark Necrofear's worried look, he added, "I won't be destroyed. After all, what devil can be incinerated in Hell?"

He started forward.

xxxx

Inside the warehouse, everyone was startled out of their wits when everything shook and the building burst into flames.

"What the heck?!" Duke cried. "Something just set this place on fire!"

Mokuba stopped short in both horror and outrage. "It's the Big Five!" he knew. "They're trying to kill us on purpose!"

A flaming beam crashed down near him and he jumped back with a yelp. Revival Jam threw himself on the fire to quench it, then swiftly reformed.

"Well, what do you know?" David mused. "They may have left us with exactly the right monster to get out of here."

"He will certainly help," Marik said. "But most likely, they planned to give us a little bit of hope so it would be that much worse when it was taken away." He grabbed Mokuba and pulled him close as another beam crashed.

"We have to get out of here!" Mokuba exclaimed. "They're probably making Seto watch everything! And . . . I don't want all of you guys to die . . . especially because of me. . . ."

"We're not going to die," Marik vowed. ". . . Although I'm not sure how we're going to live," he muttered. He took Mokuba's hand and ran down the aisle, Duke and David chasing after them.

Revival Jam did what he could, putting out fire in their path and then regenerating, but it soon seemed hopeless. It had been hard enough trying to find an exit when the building was normal. Now it was completely disorienting. Dead end after dead end, with the smoke becoming more and more stifling. Even magically-induced fire produced debilitating smoke.

"We're getting nowhere," Duke finally gasped. "The building's falling apart around us and there's no way out! The Big Five probably made it that way!"

"I'm not going to lay down and die!" Marik snapped.

"Well, me either, but I don't know what's left for us to try!" Duke shot back. He doubled over in a coughing fit.

A white sliver of light pierced the raging red and orange blaze. "There's more of you here?!" Yami Bakura's gravelly voice was unmistakable.

Marik looked to him in surprise as he approached. "How did you get in?!"

"I walked," Yami Bakura grunted. "Come; the Ring will point the way back out!"

"For once, I am really glad to see you!" David exclaimed.

The group followed the former thief through the maze of the building, while it continued to collapse around them. Revival Jam's services were needed more than once. Dark Necrofear helped too, by swinging her axe when she could and taking out assorted falling beams before they could hit.

"Have you seen my brother?!" Mokuba called over the flames.

"Yes," Yami Bakura said. "From a distance. Of course he's worried sick, but the Big Five will not release him to come for you."

"Those big jerks!" Mokuba spat, and started coughing as well.

They were about halfway to the entrance Yami Bakura had found when the Ring stopped projecting its light.

"Oh great," Duke gasped. "Now what?!"

"That path must be blocked off now," Yami Bakura realized. "Well, don't just sit here!" he yelled at the Ring. "Find another path!"

The object blinked, glowed, and a beam of light spun around like the hands of a broken clock. Then, finally, it pointed to the right.

"Good," Yami Bakura told it. "Now come on!"

The others swiftly followed, praying that this way out would not also disappear. Even holding their clothes over their noses and mouths, the smoke was becoming too strong. None of them would last much longer.

Yami Bakura blinked, squinting through the blaze. His eyes were watering. Was this anything like what it had been like in Kul Elna? No, it couldn't be. In Kul Elna there had been boiling gold. This couldn't compare with what his loved ones had suffered, being thrown into that pit as living sacrifices. But it was miserable all the same. He wasn't sure how long he would last either.

" _You can do it, big brother!"_

He jumped a mile. "Amunet?" he whispered, shaking.

Through the fire he thought he caught sight of a small figure with long whitish-lavender hair—his beloved younger sister. She smiled at him, ran ahead, then stopped and beckoned for him to keep coming.

He struggled forward, blinking back the bleariness in his eyes. "Amunet?!" He coughed.

"Amunet?!" Duke echoed. "Oh great, is he hallucinating?!" He looked at Yami Bakura in concern.

Yami Bakura stopped in front of a window and looked over at it. "She led me here," he whispered. "She . . . and the Ring. . . ."

"That's no good," David objected. "We tried to get out through multiple windows and the glass never shattered!"

"Well, perhaps the Ring has some ideas of its own about that," Yami Bakura replied. "Ring, shatter this glass and open the way for our escape!"

The Ring glowed brightly and blasted the window. The glass flew outward, leaving a big enough space for all of them to get through.

"Alright." Yami Bakura stepped to the side. "All of you go out first."

Marik immediately lifted Mokuba up and out the window, amid the boy's protests. "You'd know I wouldn't go out ahead of you, my friend," Marik said, and smiled.

Mokuba bit his lip. "Yeah, I know. . . . But you've gotta come now, Marik! It looks really bad out here! The building's almost completely caved in!"

"Go on," Duke encouraged. "We'll be right behind you."

Marik nodded and climbed out with Revival Jam. Duke and David, although each not wanting to go ahead of the other, didn't want to waste time arguing about it either. David swiftly pushed Duke to the window and Duke clenched his teeth, climbing out. David then chased after him.

"Now you," Yami Bakura ordered Dark Necrofear.

Reluctantly she went, only to obey her master.

"Come on," David called to Yami Bakura.

"I'm coming." Yami Bakura was just making his way to the window when another falling beam clipped him in the head as it went past. He snarled, holding a hand to the offending spot as he stumbled back. Stars had exploded in front of his eyes. But as they cleared, he could see that the beam had fallen on the windowsill and engulfed it in flames. He could no longer get out that way, and the fire was too thick for Revival Jam to put it out by falling on it from outside.

"Ring, I need another exit," he ordered.

But this time the Ring stayed silent. There was no other way out.

He laughed to himself, a dark and ironic laugh. "Well," he said, "perhaps this is one devil who won't survive the flames of Hell after all." He took a step forward and dizziness swept over him from the blow to his head and the smoke. He crashed to the floor with a groan.

" _Big brother. . . ."_ Through darkening eyes he could see Amunet again, standing over him, her sweet eyes filled with tears. _"You're not a devil. But even when you acted like one because of Zorc, I still loved you."_

She threw herself over his body as the rest of the building came down in flames.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

On the roof, Seto was barely containing his rage. It was all he could do not to tear across the playing field and start beating up on every one of the Big Five. As it was, he wasn't playing rationally. Atem had already chided him for two reckless moves. But he couldn't stop himself. The Big Five had made it so none of them could save Mokuba. And there were no sirens from fire engines. No help was coming; his brother was being burned alive.

Was there any chance it was a bluff? Oh, how he wanted to believe that! He was deathly afraid it was all too real. They had toyed with Yami Bakura's emotions, Johnson playing all manner of cruel tricks when Bakura was in actual fact alive. But for him, Seto, the one whom they truly hated, nothing other than the real thing would do. They wouldn't hesitate to destroy a life to get at him, even one so young. They had tried before. Now, through more trickery, they had managed to get the Five-Headed Dragon on the field, determined to doom every one of their opponents.

"Kaiba, the best thing we can do now is to defeat the Big Five once and for all!" Atem cut into his thoughts. "They cannot be allowed to spread their evil any further!"

"And they won't be," Seto snarled. "Now I fuse my three Blue Eyes White Dragons into Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

"And I'll power him up with two Dragon Treasures, so he'll be stronger than Five-Headed Dragon," Joey chimed in.

"But he won't be when I play a De-Spell to remove one of your Dragon Treasures," Gansley sneered.

"Face it, Junior, your time has come," Crump cackled. "There's nothing any of you can do against our dragon!"

"Oh really?" Atem's eyes were dark and cold. "I beg to differ." He raised his hand to the sky. "Come forth, Egyptian God Monsters!"

Everyone fell back.

"What?! Pharaoh, are you insane?!" Seto demanded. "We don't have the God Monsters!"

"You put them in the game, did you not?" Atem countered. "Then they are real, just as all the other Duel Monsters in this game are now real! And they should answer my call!"

"That's preposterous," Johnson frowned, adjusting his glasses. "They won't . . ."

The building shook. As the Big Five looked around in horror, Obelisk stormed up to glare at them over the top of the building. The Winged Dragon of Ra and Slifer the Sky Dragon were flying in from two more directions.

"Alright!" Yugi exclaimed. "Just like always, the Egyptian God Monsters answer the call of the Pharaoh!"

"No!" Gansley fell back in horror. "This won't work! You don't have enough monsters to sacrifice to get them in the game!"

"We will if we pool all of our creatures together," Atem said. "Kaiba, you have successfully wielded a God Monster. Yugi, you are my direct descendant. They will obey you now. Together, we will take down the Big Five!"

Yugi and Seto both nodded in agreement. This was a team effort.

"And we'll be right here rooting for you," Joey said.

"We couldn't have done this without your and Mai's monsters," Atem said, giving him a thumbs-up.

"Now, Obelisk," Seto ordered, "obliterate!"

"Help him, Slifer!" Yugi added.

"And Ra, add your mighty force!" Atem boomed.

The Big Five's monsters and their lifepoints vanished. They screamed, shaken by the sheer force of the God Monsters' attacks.

"And now," Seto snarled, "I'm going to find my brother. If you have any sense of preservation at all, you'll all leave right now—because if he's dead, I'm going to find a way to take even more than this from you!" With that he turned, running towards the door leading into the building.

Sullen and defeated, the Big Five vanished.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Yugi worried. "Somehow, I don't think they're done yet."

"I'm afraid you're right, Yugi," Atem said. "But right now we need to focus on Mokuba. Let's go with Kaiba!"

"He couldn't possibly still be alive," Mai objected.

"Well, we're gonna try anyway!" Joey insisted. "We never give up on a friend." He smiled a bit. "Don't you know that by now, Mai?"

Mai smiled too. "Yeah. I sure do. Alright, Joey. Let's go!" She ran for the door, followed by Joey.

Yugi and Atem chased after her, fearing the worst yet desperately praying for the best.

xxxx

The others were still en route to KaibaCorp when the sight of the Egyptian God Monsters in the distance stopped them in their tracks.

"Holy . . . !" Valon gasped. "It's them!"

"Oh wow," Téa moaned. "I hope they're not mad about being put in the game!"

"With any luck, they will help the Pharaoh and Kaiba defeat the Big Five," Ishizu said.

"Well, let's get closer," Solomon encouraged. "I would love to see them in action!"

"But maybe not too close," Bakura cautioned. "We don't know how far the shockwaves from their power will extend."

". . . Good point," Solomon conceded.

In the sky, Joey's Red Eyes Black Dragon roared, followed by the warbling of Mai's Baby Dragon. They were worried and wanted to be there. Their friends were in that game; they were sure of it!

Wingweaver was worried too. "Trouble!" she called in concern.

The reason for the cry was almost immediately obvious.

"Uh oh, guys," Téa gasped now. "It looks like we'll have all we can handle down here. It's a ground army of Warriors and Beast-Warriors and Zombies, coming right at us!"

Rishid stared in alarm. "Oh no!"

Ishizu opened the door of the van and stepped out. "There must be more power-ups we can use for our monsters, and magic and trap deterrents." Although outwardly calm, she was more than a little distressed. Marik was still missing and now they were being thrust into a battle they were not ready for. What if they couldn't figure out how to combat their new foes?

Serenity's eyes were filled with fear, but she got out of the car too. "I'll help!"

Her Lady Panther was finally catching up with her. A welcome crack of a whip and a roar echoed off the buildings as the Duel Monster charged in to fight. Crawling Dragon snorted as he advanced towards the army as well, along with Berfomet and Des Frog.

"This is great," Téa said in relief. "More back-up!"

Her Shining Friendship flew off, then swiftly returned holding a Silver Bow and Arrow.

"Awesome!" Téa grinned. "Just what we needed! Let's show these enemy Duel Monsters the power of friendship!"

Shining Friendship chirped in agreement and threaded an arrow.

The Dark Magicians were eager to contribute their help to the situation. "Double Dark Magic Attack!" Dark Magician Girl called as she and Dark Magician pooled their power.

Wingweaver also joined in with the assault.

Magic attacks and weaponry from both sides were flying through the air. Solomon ducked out of the line of fire, calling instructions to Curse of Dragon all the while.

Raphael jumped a mile when someone suddenly appeared at his window. But when he saw who it was, he had to smile. "Guardian Eatos. . . ."

The Duel Monster who had saved his life on more than one occasion smiled at him in recognition and turned to help fight.

Bakura bit his lip. "I wish I could help more. . . ." He got out of the car, staying below the various attacks and blasts. When he located a Trap Hole on the ground, he had to laugh. "This should take care of a great deal of our problem!" he called, and held the card up. "Trap Hole!"

A hole opened up under many of the enemy Duel Monsters and they fell with angry cries and roars.

"Awesome job!" Téa congratulated.

"And now I summon my Embodiment of Apophis!" Rishid announced. He had just discovered one of the grotesque Duel Monsters slithering around the van, and it had been quite willing to help. It lunged now, sword bared, as several Dragons swooped down from the sky.

"Zolga!" Ishizu announced. "Cape of Destruction!"

"And here's a Cyber Commander!" Alister cried.

Between the old and new Duel Monsters and a Radiant Mirror Force Serenity discovered, the battle was finally won. Relieved, everyone started climbing back into their vehicles.

"Let's go before any more show up!" Téa exclaimed.

"We need to get to KaibaCorp immediately," Alister agreed. "The God Monsters are gone now. The duel must be over."

"Well, Yugi and Atem and everyone had to have won!" Téa cried. "Nothing could beat the God Monsters!"

"Perhaps, but if they won, why is the Duel Monsters game world still here?" Solomon gravely asked.

"The monsters probably won't leave that easily, if a dimensional rift was torn open," Bakura said. "But that wouldn't explain the rest, it's true."

 _Oh Yami,_ he thought in despair. _Are you safe?_

xxxx

The building was still burning by the time Tristan came back with a vicious sea creature. "Man, it figures this would happen nowhere near Gansley's water section!" he berated. "I had to look in everybody's swimming pools before I found this big guy. Alright, Phantom Dragonray Bronto! Put out this fire!"

The creature shrieked and blasted the warehouse with a barrage of water. When the smoke cleared, the fire was out.

"Yes!" Tristan pumped the air. "Now, where's Yami Bakura? And Mokuba, if he was really in there?"

Seto ran through the front doors of KaibaCorp just then. "Tristan, where's Mokuba?!" he demanded.

"I don't know," Tristan exclaimed. "I thought he was in there, but we never really knew for sure. I just got the fire put out now!"

"It better not have been too late!" Seto tore across the street and over to the wreckage. "Mokuba! Where are you?!"

He wasn't expecting to hear crying around the side of the building. "Seto . . . I'm over here."

Immediately Seto took off again, running around the side into the alley. Then he stopped short. Mokuba was kneeling on the ground, hugging Marik as he cried. Marik held him close, looking helpless. Duke and David were standing awkwardly to the side, also looking helpless. Dark Necrofear was hacking away at the wreckage with her axe, while Revival Jam wobbled worriedly.

"What is this?!" Seto demanded. "What happened?!"

Mokuba looked up. "Seto. . . ." He got up and ran to his brother, hugging him around the waist. "We were all trapped in there. We couldn't get out. Then Yami Bakura showed up and helped us find a way out with his Ring."

"He did what?!" Seto stared at him.

"He had us all go out first, but he couldn't make it." Mokuba shut his eyes tightly. "We saw a beam come down and hit him and then it started burning on the windowsill. He didn't have any other way to get out. And then the building started coming down. . . ."

Seto held the boy close. He was overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness that Mokuba was safe, when he had been torn apart with anguish fearing he was dead. And to think of who he owed that to. . . .

He looked back at the building. It was blackened and weak, with barely any beams still standing at all. Water dripped from the twisted mess, pooling on the ground.

Tristan had run over just in time to hear Mokuba's story. He stopped short, turning pale. "No way!" He looked to the wreckage too. "We've gotta get him out of there!"

"He couldn't be alive," Mokuba objected. "The Ring . . . it makes him mortal, so that means he can die. And there's no way he survived that. . . ."

"I'll get him out anyway," Tristan insisted. He stepped into the mess, throwing several beams aside. "Is this about where he was?"

"Yeah," Duke said. Shaking himself out of his daze, he went over to help Tristan. David and Marik did as well.

Mokuba scrambled over too, struggling with a heavy beam. Seto quickly came over, helping him lift it.

Yugi gasped as he and the others ran over to see so many of the others working with the building's remains. "What's going on?!" he exclaimed.

"Talk later. Just start clearing this away," Seto shot back.

The others were agreeable to that.

With so many working, they soon managed to dig under the beams and rods to where Yami Bakura was lying lifeless on the floor. Sickened, Mokuba stared at him, then away.

Tristan swallowed hard. "Come on, man," he whispered. "I said to find Mokuba, not get yourself killed!" He slammed his fist into a nearby beam.

"Bakura!" Atem gasped. "What on Earth?!"

"He saved us," Mokuba trembled. "He saved us and now he's dead!"

"He's not even crushed," Mai said in amazement. "Those beams were right on top of him!"

Seto bent down next to him. "He's still breathing," he said in disbelief. "There must have been an air pocket here."

Mai rocked back. "That's impossible! There wasn't any room for an air pocket!"

"Not just that, but there are no bones broken and no burns." Seto looked shaken. He wasn't sure how this was possible either. But it didn't really matter right now. "Come on, let's get him out of here."

Seto could have lifted him out by himself. But Tristan came forward, wanting to help. Together they carried him away from the debris and over to the alley, where they laid him down with his head on Dark Necrofear's lap.

"Wake up," Marik pleaded. "You're safe now. We owe our lives to you."

There was no response.

Seto shook his head. "You said a beam hit him. He's not out of the woods yet. If the blow was serious enough, that alone could be fatal."

"No. . . ." Mokuba stared at him. "He's gotta be okay. . . ."

Tristan snarled. "I know somebody who might be able to bring him back. Only . . . he's already gone. . . ."

"No, he isn't," Seto said. "Bakura's alive! I saw him earlier."

"What?!" All eyes turned to Seto.

"He's right," Mai said. "Joey and I saw him too."

"Why didn't you tell us this before?!" Atem demanded.

"The Big Five didn't give us any time to chat," Seto retorted.

"Well, where is he now?!" Duke looked around in despair.

"I don't know," Seto said. "The Big Five pulled me away from everyone else."

"Us too," Mai frowned, indicating herself and Joey. "He's probably still with the rest of them."

"Well, we have to find them," Atem exclaimed. "Not only for Yami Bakura's sake, but to know they're safe!"

"We will," Yugi vowed. "And I'm also worried about the Big Five. We beat them, but you can bet they're still around. Especially since . . . well, did you notice that everything is still here?! We're still stranded in their world! Beating them didn't stop it!"

"No surprise," Seto said. "We'll probably have to shut down the game from the central computer in Kaiba Land to fully stop it." He clenched a fist. And would that really erase the game? He didn't want to believe it. But how would he check on the status of the back-up copies without risking the Big Five infecting them as well? . . . Provided they hadn't already done it, as Gansley had insisted they had.

Mokuba looked down sadly at Yami Bakura. "What are we gonna do?"

"We'll take the van and maybe a couple of company cars and go to Kaiba Land," Seto said. "We'll have to take Yami Bakura with us; I don't trust leaving him at the infirmary as long as the Big Five are still running the city."

Dark Necrofear nodded and stood, taking Yami Bakura in her arms. Revival Jam tried to carry her doll. Smiling a bit sadly, Marik reached down to pick him up.

xxxx

The Big Five reconvened in their conference room, defeated, angry, and not ready to give up their quest.

"Well, now what?!" Lector demanded. "Not only did Mokuba survive that inferno thanks to that thief, we got walloped by the Egyptian God Monsters! Everything we've tried has failed, badly!"

"But our game is still in play," Gansley said. "We still have a chance to ruin their lives and take over KaibaCorp."

"And what happens if Seto Kaiba tries to shut down the game, as he will no doubt try to do next?" Johnson wondered.

Nesbitt smirked. "I programmed one other fail-safe into the game," he bragged. "He has to get the system to recognize him in order to shut it down. Instead of erasing the game, as Gansley told him it would, it will erase him as soon as it recognizes him! Once he's dead, our game can continue blanketing the city and giving us physical form. I would have been a fool to have programmed game erasure into the computer!"

"Brilliant!" Crump cheered. "You're right, Nesbitt—that's a far better fail-safe, and a much more fitting one. Our chance of victory is still 100 percent!"

"Let's go to Kaiba Land so we can witness our moment of triumph," Gansley sneered.

Everyone fully agreed.

xxxx

The others were just trudging out from the wreckage of the building when all the other vehicles pulled up at last. The occupants stared at the procession.

"Oh my gosh!" Téa exclaimed. "What happened?!"

Bakura's heart went cold. _"YAMI!"_ He fought with the door of Raphael's car, finally forcing it open and running over to the limp body in Dark Necrofear's arms.

"He's alive," Mokuba told him. "But he's hurt because he saved us. Me and Marik and Duke and David. . . ." He looked down, blinking back tears. "The Big Five trapped us in that building and then torched it."

"Why, those snakes," Valon snarled. Seeing Mai, he got off his motorcycle and ran over to her. "Mai!"

"I'm okay, Valon," she told him. "Yami Bakura is the only one who's hurt here."

"Téa!" Yugi hurried over to her.

"Hi, Yugi," Téa greeted, so happy to see him yet shaken by the scene before them. "We saw the God Monsters in the sky! Are you all okay?!"

"Yeah, we're fine," Yugi said. "Then we got down here and found all this. . . ."

Téa bowed her head. "He looks pretty bad off. . . ."

"Not anywhere as bad as he could have been," Yugi said, trying to smile. "I don't know what it was, but something was sure protecting him. I can't believe he'd be spared only to die now."

Téa didn't want to believe that either. He had been their enemy, but those days were long over now. He was their ally . . . their friend. She had meant her words earlier that day. She didn't want him to die. . . .

"Marik!" Ishizu exclaimed, catching sight of her precious brother.

"Ishizu! Rishid!" Marik ran over to meet them, still holding Revival Jam.

Rishid looked him up and down. "You're not hurt?"

Marik sighed. "Well, I was in the fire. I guess I'll have to be checked for smoke inhalation, but yes, I'm alright thanks to Yami Bakura."

"Thank goodness." Ishizu drew an arm around Marik but watched sadly as the thief remained still. That could have been Marik, if not for him. . . .

"Joey! Mai! Duke! David! Tristan!" Serenity was running over as well, her hair streaming out behind her.

"Hey, we're all fine, Sis," Joey smiled.

"That's right," Duke said. "And what about you, Serenity? Are you alright?"

"Uh huh." Serenity hugged Joey, then settled into an embrace from Duke. "I'm just fine." She looked worriedly to Yami Bakura. "Is he going to be okay?"

"If he is, Bakura should be able to draw him out," Tristan said. He clenched a fist at his side. "He said most of you said you wanted to be friends," he said quietly. "He asked me if I could, and I . . . couldn't answer him. . . ." He looked away. "And now he's . . ."

"He's going to be okay, Tristan," Téa firmly interrupted. "He has to be. . . ." She watched with her heart in her throat as Bakura just stared down at him almost in disbelief.

Dark Necrofear looked sadly at Bakura. Her master was indeed still alive, but even if the blow wasn't fatal, she wondered if he had the will to wake up. He had been in so much pain. Always, so much pain. . . . She had always been his Duel Monster, ever since he had first acquired the card pack with her card in it. She had been with him through so much. And she had seen how he could not handle being without Bakura. Her cold heart was broken as it had only been broken one other time, when the inhuman experiments on her had left her body mutilated and half-robotic, unable to bear children.

Bakura was wondering the same thing about the man's will. He sobbed as he gently turned Yami Bakura to face him. "Yami, it's me!" he cried. "I've come back, just as I promised! Please, Yami! Please, wake up! You have to be alright. . . ."

At first there was no response. But then Yami Bakura's eyes fluttered as the teardrops landed on them. "What? . . . Bakura?!" He went stiff, staring up at the cherished boy. "No . . . not another trick! . . ."

The anger and anguish in his voice shattered everyone's hearts.

"I'm not a trick, Yami!" Bakura insisted. He brushed the hair away from the older man's face, praying that he would know what to do, as Solomon had insisted he would. "I'm real! They were holding me prisoner just to torture you. They wanted you to use the Infinity Ring in hate so it would backfire on you and they could claim it!"

Yami Bakura reached up, gripping Bakura's wrist with a shaking hand. "How can I believe you?" he rasped. "How can I believe you're not Johnson again? Or one of the others? Or even just a hologram programmed by them?!"

"They couldn't know everything," Bakura insisted with a shaking, sad smile. "They couldn't know about Amunet, or about . . . about how much I love you. They couldn't duplicate those feelings. Look in my eyes, Yami! Look and you'll see that love, my dear friend. My brother. . . ."

For a long moment Yami Bakura stared into Bakura's eyes. Then he climbed out of Dark Necrofear's arms, convinced of the truth. The miracle he had longed for had actually come to pass. "Bakura. . . ." He threw his arms around the boy, embracing him close. "I thought I'd lost you. . . . If you knew what I did, I doubt you'd want to . . ."

"But I do know, Yami!" Bakura hugged him, then pulled back to look firmly in his eyes. "I saw everything on the screens in the room they were using. I could never fear you or reject you for what you did. Especially when . . ." He swallowed hard. "When you did it because of your love for me. . . ."

"You know?" Yami Bakura stared at him, still in disbelief. "I used Berserker Soul. I went berserk myself. And I'm not sorry."

"I know," Bakura said softly. "And I used the Change of Heart on Gansley once I knew what their cruel plan was. And . . ." He swallowed hard. "I'm not sorry either."

More staring. "Bakura . . ." Shock and concern flickered through Yami Bakura's eyes.

"Oh, I know you went too far with Johnson, Yami, but you can't be blamed," Bakura insisted. "Not under the circumstances. Not when he was being so cruel. And I do feel guilty for using the Change of Heart, but I don't regret it. They're both alright, I'm sure."

"True, they are," Yami Bakura said. "They were dueling Kaiba and some of the others on the roof. . . ." He looked around, suddenly realizing that Seto, Atem, and the rest were now here.

"The duel's over, and we need to get to Kaiba Land to shut this game down," Seto interjected. "And . . . I owe you my gratitude for what you did."

Mokuba nodded, beaming up at Yami Bakura. "You saved us! Thank you."

Marik, Duke, and David added their agreement as well.

Yami Bakura actually looked awkward and embarrassed. ". . . I did what had to be done," he said gruffly.

Bakura hugged him close. "Which not everybody would," he insisted. "Oh Yami, I'm so glad you're alright!"

Yami Bakura welcomed it. "You're really here," he whispered. "This is real. . . ."

Téa smiled happily.

"I knew everything would be just fine when they met again," Solomon said. "Bakura knew exactly what to do."

"And now we really do need to get going," Seto said. "You can keep reuniting on the way."

Once again everyone began separating to their various vehicles, none of them knowing of the final horrors that awaited them at Kaiba Land.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

Yami Bakura was still reeling as they headed for Kaiba Land. Tristan had opted to drive, knowing Yami Bakura likely wouldn't feel up to it and wanting to give him a chance to further reunite with Bakura. Both Bakuras were grateful.

"Yami, you can't imagine how worried I was when I saw you laying so still," Bakura said softly as they sat on the middle row. "And I know I can't imagine how horrible it was for you, thinking I was dead. . . ."

Yami Bakura grunted. "I haven't had such a treacherous day since the night of the Kul Elna massacre," he admitted. "Although the days when that fiend tortured me come close."

"I'm so sorry," Bakura whispered.

"And speaking of Kul Elna . . ." Yami Bakura stared off into the distance. "I saw Amunet tonight. . . ."

Bakura sat up like a shot. "You saw her, Yami?!" He stared, his eyes wide.

"Yes. . . . I thought I was hallucinating at first. But she helped lead me right to the spot where I was able to get the others out. Then, after I was hit on the head by that blasted beam, she came back and threw herself over me. Now that I'm aware enough to think about it, I know she must have kept me from being killed when the building came down."

Bakura smiled. "I'm sure of it." He laid a hand over Yami Bakura's. "Death never stops the love of family."

Yami Bakura looked down at that hand. So gentle, and yet so strong. . . .

"No," he said. "It wouldn't. I've never actually seen her since Kul Elna. I've sensed her presence at times, but to actually see her . . . no. Not until tonight."

"That's such an incredible gift," Bakura whispered. "I wish I could see Amane, even just once. . . ." He trailed off. "Did she say anything to you, Yami?"

"Yes," Yami Bakura said slowly. "She told me I could succeed in getting everyone safely out. Later, she . . . said she had always loved me, even when I acted like a devil because of Zorc."

"And something else too, I think," Bakura said, peering at him.

Yami Bakura grunted and looked away. "She said I wasn't a devil. I was calling myself one."

"And you're not!" Bakura firmly exclaimed. "Oh Yami, you're not! What will it take to convince you?"

"I doubt anyone's words can ever convince me," Yami Bakura said. "I have to come to the conclusion on my own. It's been such a roller-coaster of emotions throughout this wretched day. But if I can't ever regret attacking Johnson, or my other dark thoughts regarding the Big Five, I will never be considered 'good' in some circles. How can I regret going after people who need to be stopped?"

"Maybe you never can," Bakura said. "Maybe you shouldn't. You've said yourself that everyone has their own ideas of good. Don't you even consider yourself good by your own standards?"

A shrug. "That's part of the problem, Bakura. By this point I don't even know what is good anymore, even by my standards. My entire way of thinking has been altered and I am still trying to sort it out." His eyes narrowed. "But I do know that I cannot consider attacking the Big Five 'bad.'"

"And I can't either," Bakura said softly.

"Amunet kept talking to me after I fell unconscious," Yami Bakura said. "I heard her vaguely. She said everything was going to be alright and I wasn't going to be seriously hurt."

"You haven't been," Bakura said. "But when this is over, you should still be examined at the infirmary anyway. Everyone who was in that fire should be."

Yami Bakura didn't acknowledge that. "She also said it was strange to see me looking so different, but she still recognized me from my face and hair, and even my eyes, despite them being a different color."

Bakura smiled a bit. "Yes, that was how I recognized you when you came into my room that night in your form from mortality." He gave the other a thoughtful look. "But you're sort of coming to prefer this other form now, aren't you?"

A shrug. "At least I don't feel three millennia old when I use it. I feel more like your contemporary, and I like that. But there is that pesky problem of so little muscle."

"Oh Yami," Bakura chuckled.

"Although I know I'm attractive regardless," Yami Bakura continued with a smirk.

Bakura laughed. "I guess you always will be rather vain about your physical appearance," he said. "At least that's one area where you're not berating yourself."

". . . There was something else good that happened while you were gone," Yami Bakura said as he sobered. "Several of the group actually said they wanted to be friends. Heh. Can you imagine that?" He leaned back in the seat.

Now Bakura gently squeezed his hand. "Of course I can," he said. "They're all coming to see what I already saw."

"Not Tristan, naturally, but Joey actually showed such an interest. That's almost as surprising." Yami Bakura stared off into the distance.

Bakura sneaked a look at Tristan, visible in the rear-view mirror. He could hear the conversation, of course, and the guilt flashing through his eyes was unmistakable.

"By now, I'm sure even Seto Kaiba likes you," Bakura said. "How could he not?"

"Perhaps he does," Yami Bakura mused. "Not that I was trying to get him to."

"You would never do that." Bakura smiled. "But he has plenty of reason to now."

Yami Bakura grunted, but he couldn't deny it. Instead he frowned, giving Bakura a searching look. "When I thought you were dead, I found fragments of your clothing," he remembered. "But you're wearing your clothes. What happened? Was what I saw an illusion?"

Bakura looked caught. "Well . . . no . . . not exactly. . . ."

"What, exactly?!" Yami Bakura demanded. He sat up straight, staring his descendant down with protective eyes.

Bakura sighed. He would never be able to get around this. He hated to make Yami Bakura worry more, or grow angry again, but . . . what was, was. It would have to be told eventually. He leaned forward, sweeping his hair around his shoulder. "My clothes are torn. . . ."

Yami Bakura leaned forward to look. The skin visible through the tears was red and sore. "You've been burned," he said in outrage.

"It's really not bad, Yami," Bakura protested. He straightened, letting his hair fall back into place. "It hurt at first, but it doesn't now. . . . Not so much. . . ."

Yami Bakura snarled. "They will still pay," he vowed. "It wasn't enough to play pranks on me and make me think you were dead when you weren't. They had to harm you for real!" His eyes flashed. "They won't get away with this."

"Oh Yami. . . ." Bakura gave him a worried look and took the clenched fist between his hands. "Please be careful. You couldn't handle losing me. I know I couldn't handle losing you."

The fist stiffened, then slowly loosened. Yami Bakura looked to the boy he had longed so desperately to see again, into the soft eyes filled with fear and love.

"You won't lose me, Bakura," he said. "I won't leave you."

Bakura smiled. He believed it.

xxxx

Seto had chosen to ride in the Ishtars' van again. Mokuba was sitting next to him, silent. Although he was clearly happy about being back with Seto and knowing Bakura and Yami Bakura were alright, it was obvious that something was still bothering him.

"What is it, Mokuba?" Seto finally asked. "What's wrong?"

Mokuba stared at the floor. "Well . . . I just have to wonder why all of this had to go so wrong," he said bitterly. "You had this really awesome game, and then the Big Five had to go wreck it and cause all this trouble and heartache for everyone. People have almost _died,_ Seto!"

Seto's eyes narrowed. "I know. And I don't know why it had to happen either, except that life has always been like that for us. The trick is not to give in to despair. We have to rise above it."

"Yeah, well, sometimes it gets so that's not so easy anymore." Mokuba stared at the floor. "What good is it to keep bringing out all these awesome products when someone's just ready and waiting to misuse them?"

"Hey, we've brought a lot of happiness to people with our products. Don't forget that." Seto watched his brother in concern. "The nutcases are a very small portion of our customers."

Mokuba sighed. "Do you really feel like that, Seto?" He looked up with worried eyes. "I'm afraid that one of these days, you'll get so discouraged that you'll give up too."

"As long as I have something worth fighting for, I'll never give up," Seto vowed. "And our happiness is worth that, don't you think?"

"Yeah . . ." Mokuba said slowly.

Seto sighed. "Is this really all that's bothering you?"

Mokuba looked away. "Sure it is."

"It must get hard when our enemies keep trying to use you to get at me," Seto said.

Mokuba's shoulders slumped. "Okay, yeah, that's really hard. I don't want to be the reason you're in a lot of pain, Seto!" He looked up sorrowfully. "You're probably always having to worry about me. How can you relax or have any enjoyment out of life at all?"

"Because we're in this together," Seto said firmly. "As long as you're here, kid, I can be happy. But I don't want you to keep getting used by our enemies either. I wish I knew how to make it stop." He hesitated. "I doubt it would help at this point, but if it would, would you want to give up KaibaCorp?"

Mokuba froze, staring at Seto in disbelief. Up front, the Ishtars were also stunned.

"But Seto, KaibaCorp is your whole life," he protested.

"Because _you're_ my whole life," Seto countered. "KaibaCorp would be meaningless without you, Mokuba! I took over KaibaCorp so we'd have a better future. But sometimes I wonder if it's really worked."

Mokuba bit his lip and looked down. "Sometimes I wonder too," he confessed. "But I'd hate to still be living in the orphanage." He looked up again. "I started to lose you for a while, Seto, when Gozaburo corrupted you and then later when you got obsessed with Yugi and started getting caught up in your hate. But you've changed since then! I have you back again. And to have you back . . . the bad stuff is worth it."

Seto's expression softened. ". . . I never did tell you why I made that scene of accusing you of telling Gozaburo about the plan to take over KaibaCorp."

"I never asked." Mokuba looked stunned again. "I thought you really believed I'd done that. . . . Then in Noa's world, Lector said it was all an act to make Gozaburo think he was going to win. And he said . . . he said you were the one who really got the information out to Gozaburo. I didn't want to believe it. And after that awful experience with Noa brainwashing me, I wanted to just put it all behind me and think about the future, like you always do."

"I should have told you the truth long ago," Seto said. "Lector was right, but not entirely. He acted like my plan was selfish and would only benefit me. But I did it for us, Mokuba! You were the only one I trusted, but I wasn't sure you would be able to act convincingly enough to fool Gozaburo. So I didn't tell you about my plan to trick him. I knew the scene had to be real or he would never buy it and let us keep gaining stock in KaibaCorp."

Mokuba looked away. "It really hurt," he said softly. "It was the worst day of my life. But I still trusted you, Seto. I wasn't going to side with Gozaburo against you."

"I knew you wouldn't," Seto said. "But I'm sorry I did that to you. If I could have thought of any other way that would have worked just as well, I would have done that instead."

Mokuba smiled. "I know. What I told Noa was true—you would never hurt me on purpose. Not unless there was a reason behind it like that. You've always looked out for me."

"We've always looked out for each other," Seto said. "What I told you during the duel with Noa was true too—you saved me. But not just when you drew me a Blue Eyes White Dragon to give me hope; you save me every single day. You always gave me hope when Gozaburo was around—hope that things would one day be better for us and a reason to keep striving for that. And you give me hope now. You keep me human."

Mokuba snuggled close to Seto. "I'm glad. You always give me hope too, Seto. I want to be as strong as you someday."

Seto drew an arm around him. "You're already stronger than I am," he said quietly.

Mokuba stared. "Huh? But Seto, I'm nothing like you!"

"That's why you're stronger," Seto said. "You didn't handle our situations the same way I did. You have a different mindset, and you're better off for it."

"Because you were always there for me," Mokuba said. "I couldn't have done it alone. I wish you wouldn't always think you have to."

Seto hesitated. "We're a team, Mokuba. But I don't want to burden you with my problems. I want you to stay as innocent as you are for as long as you can. Coming into a realization of the darkness of the real world is harsh and cold."

"I already know a lot about that," Mokuba said softly. "But I worry about you all the time, big brother. I want to know what's upsetting you so I can share your pain and make it easier for you."

"It's easier for me when you don't know all of it," Seto said. Another hesitation, and then, "But I've ended up telling you the main things that are bothering me now."

"I'm sure it also hurts a lot that the Big Five are wrecking your game," Mokuba said.

"I'm going to put it back to normal," Seto said. "I won't let them beat me!"

Mokuba smiled. "You're the best, Seto."

"We're coming up on Kaiba Land now," Marik suddenly spoke up from the front. He sounded tense. "And they're not going to make it easy to get in."

Indeed, another army of enemy Duel Monsters was waiting at the front gate. Several Dragons roared, while Spellcasters aimed their staffs and Warriors readied their weapons.

"You know what's worse?" Mokuba gasped. "Most of these monsters are cards Seto's used! Or cards that have been used against him!"

Seto narrowed his eyes. "I expected something like this." He started to open the van door. "Battle Ox, attack!"

"Seto, why are you getting out?!" Mokuba exclaimed.

"I'm going to try something," Seto said. "It worked for the Pharaoh; maybe it will work for me too. Come forth, Blue Eyes White Dragon!" He raised his hand to the sky.

Mokuba and the Ishtars watched in amazement. In a moment there came an answering roar and the mighty beast flew down near Seto.

"It worked," Mokuba said softly. "The dragon came to Seto. . . ."

"They have been bound since ancient Egypt," Ishizu said. She was not as surprised as Mokuba.

"Only the Seto of ancient Egypt really wasn't Seto Kaiba after all," Marik said. "Atem said he saw him in the afterlife. Apparently he was Kaiba's ancestor."

"Then the dragon has been bound to the family line," Ishizu said without skipping a beat.

Soon everyone was joining in the fight with their Duel Monsters as well.

"You know," Joey remarked, "it's kind of weird that we haven't fallen into any traps. . . ."

A Kunai with Chain promptly wrapped around him.

Mai facepalmed. "You were saying?" She pulled out a large feather she had found nearby. "Harpie's Feather Duster!"

The chain broke. Joey looked to her in relief. "Hey, thanks, Mai."

"Just be more careful in the future," Mai replied.

The fight raged through the front gate and onto the Kaiba Land grounds. Seto's Blue Eyes, catching sight of the Blue Eyes statue in front of the main building, roared in greeting and waited for a response. Upon not receiving one, he tilted his head, puzzled, and then had to turn his attention to an attacking Shinato.

"Blue Eyes! Dive out of the way!" Seto yelled.

The dragon did, and roared in approval as he discovered a Dragon Treasure. But since that only put him at the same attack strength as Shinato, he didn't try attacking himself. Instead, he focused on a Dark Magician.

As the battle continued, and as they drew ever closer to the central computer, Seto continued to turn over the possibilities in his mind of what would happen when they arrived and he tried to shut down the game. Gansley had said it would be erased, but the more he thought about it, the less sense it made. The game was how the Big Five had their solid forms. They wouldn't want to risk losing those. But naturally there would be some kind of consequence for Seto trying to shut down the game. Maybe it wouldn't have anything to do with the game at all.

His eyes glinted. That was it.

Quickly he glanced over at Mokuba. The boy was standing near Marik and they were fighting enemy Duel Monsters. Hopefully Mokuba wouldn't see what he was about to do. He couldn't risk telling the boy and having the Big Five eavesdrop, but he didn't want Mokuba to be traumatized by the sight.

The pathway was open to the building now. He ran ahead before more monsters could interfere. Yes, they would want to make it difficult, just enough so that he wouldn't suspect the truth, but easy enough that he would most assuredly make it through the obstacle course and inside. They wanted him to try to shut the game down. They wanted it because they knew it would backfire so seriously on him.

He ran over to the computer and started to type. "Override!" he ordered. "End simulation, now!"

"Please identify yourself," the computer responded in its matter-of-fact, emotionless tone.

"Seto Kaiba," Seto said.

The camera on top of the monitor came on, scanning first his face and then going in for a close-up retina scan of his eyes. "Subject identified as Seto Kaiba. Ending simulation."

Without warning the keyboard came alive with electricity. Seto screamed and fell backwards, then collapsed to the floor.

Just arriving in the doorway, Téa screamed too. "Kaiba!"

Atem ran up beside her. "Oh no!"

The Big Five's cruel laughter echoed all around them as they materialized in the room.

"So, the final part of our plan worked perfectly," Gansley jeered.

"What did you do?!" Atem snarled.

"Just a little reprogramming and rewiring," Nesbitt laughed. "Naturally we wouldn't really risk the game being stopped. We need it to sustain our solid forms. When Mr. Kaiba tried to stop it, he triggered the real fail-safe."

"You killed him," Téa whispered in sickened horror.

"And now we're free to take over KaibaCorp and this city as we choose," Gansley said.

"You're wrong." Atem's eyes flashed with fury. "You will never claim either one. In Kaiba's memory, and for the future of all the rest of us, I will stop you!"

"And so will I." Yami Bakura came up next to him. "All of you must pay for what you did to Bakura. I won't show mercy."

"But first . . ." Another voice joined in, one that shocked everyone in the room to their cores. "I'm stripping all of you of your solid, holographic bodies." Seto stood up, the remote control in his hands. "I just told the computer that the five of you are viruses that must be removed from the system."

"Kaiba?!" Atem and Téa cried.

"What?! How?! Who . . . ?!" Crump was having a panic attack, and all the rest of the Big Five looked equally shaken and stunned.

"You were pretending all the time?!" Téa's eyes flashed. For some reason, that made her upset.

"I figured out your real plan was to get rid of me," Seto said. "I made sure to play along and get you to think I'd been electrocuted so you'd come out. Now, you're out of my game for good." He pressed the button on his remote.

"No!" Gansley exclaimed.

"Please, we must be able to talk about this!" Johnson begged.

But sparks sizzled and crackled around their holographic bodies. The men screamed in pain. Then they were transparent, left as the wandering spirits they had been before. The game had rejected them.

Atem looked to Yami Bakura. "Are you ready?"

"Of course," Yami Bakura sneered.

"Then together we banish you all to the Shadow Realm!" Atem cried. "You will torment us and our loved ones no longer!"

Both the Puzzle and the Ring glowed brightly. Shadow Realm fog closed in around the Big Five despite their protests. When it faded, they were gone.

Atem sighed. "It's over."

"For the time being," Yami Bakura grunted.

"Big brother!" Mokuba reached the doorway and tore past everyone to get to Seto.

Seto pulled him close. "It's okay now, kid. They're gone. They won't bother us any more."

Mokuba hugged him. "I'm so glad you're safe, Seto. . . ."

"And you are too," Seto said in relief. "We all are."

And the game world was fading. The monsters remained, but the world outside the building looked more and more like the Domino City they all knew and loved every moment.

"So . . . what happens now?" Joey wondered.

"The game is over," the Dark Magician Girl said. "The portal will close. We'll all have to go through it before it does."

"Would it be so terrible if some of you got stuck over here?" Joey retorted.

"I'd love to stay and explore, and go back to that shop," the Dark Magician Girl smiled, "but we should get back. We have family over there."

"What about the monsters we've become close to?" Marik asked. "The ones who have sought us out?" He looked down at Revival Jam, who was rocking back and forth near his leg.

"Don't you know?" Dark Magician Girl smiled at him. "They're always with you. They've been yours ever since you came into possession of their cards, and they're there every time you play them."

"Then . . ." Marik picked up the affectionate Duel Monster. "This is really my Revival Jam, the one I've had all along?"

"And that's really my Red Eyes?!" Joey stared at the dragon.

"Yes," Dark Magician Girl smiled.

Yami Bakura turned to look at Dark Necrofear, who had come up beside him. "It is you," he whispered. "You've known me all this time, and you're still loyal after everything. . . ."

She looked back at him. _Of course, Master._

"Hold on a minute," Mai interrupted. "I don't have a Baby Dragon card."

"No, but Joey does," Dark Magician Girl replied.

The Baby Dragon chirped in agreement.

"You're Joey's?" Mai stared at him.

"Awesome!" Joey exclaimed.

Téa beamed. "Then a part of Joey's deck has been with you ever since you came back, Mai."

"It figures that would happen," Mai said. She started to smile. "I should have known."

"You had all better say your farewells," the Dark Magician said. "We need to leave. Just remember, they will never be far away."

Everyone agreed. It was a bittersweet scene as they all said Goodbye to their new-old friends. And some of the Duel Monsters really didn't seem to want to go. Revival Jam hugged Marik and just stayed in his arms, making no move to leave. Shining Friendship perched on Téa's shoulder. Red Eyes and Blue Eyes nuzzled Joey and Seto, respectively.

Dark Necrofear embraced Yami Bakura before pulling back. _I know I'm leaving you in the best of hands, Master. And I am always with you._

Yami Bakura slowly nodded, hearing her words though she did not speak. "Thank you," he said quietly.

As Dark Necrofear walked towards the portal, Revival Jam finally jumped down from Marik's arms and followed her.

"Goodbye," Marik softly called.

Revival Jam turned and waved.

Téa brushed aside a tear as Shining Friendship flew to join them. "It's going to be lonely without them physically here," she said. "I was really getting attached."

"I think he was too," Tristan said. "But it's better for them to be in their own dimension. Somehow I don't think the world's ready for Duel Monsters for real. I'm not sure Duel Monsters are ready for the world, either."

"Yeah," Téa sighed. "You're probably right."

Marik took out his deck and shuffled through it until he found Revival Jam. "I know it's not the same, but they are still with us," he said. "Maybe when we play the game, the holograms are infused with their spirits."

"That's a nice thought," Bakura smiled. "Who knows; maybe that's true."

"I'm still wondering how the Big Five managed to tear open this rift in the first place," Seto said.

"Pegasus managed to tear one open just by creating the game with monster characters that already existed," Atem said. "Perhaps when the Big Five made your game real, that also opened the portal."

"That's kind of scary if just creating the game is what did it," Téa said. "I mean, we're just lucky that most Duel Monsters are nice. What if someone created some other kind of game and opened a rift to where most of the characters are not good guys?"

Yugi shuddered. "That . . . would be a problem." He smiled. "But we'd solve it by sticking together, like we always do."

No one disagreed with that.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes: Another little edit when Mokuba is talking about the past, since again, killing Seto was not part of the deal in the original Japanese scene of conspiring with Pegasus, and I don't know who suggested it in the dub regardless, due to the different designs and voices of the Big Five.**

 **Epilogue**

Mokuba stood in the KaibaCorp infirmary, looking down at the comatose body of Lector. The other members of the Big Five were there as well, all the same, none of them showing the slightest inclination of waking up. Of course, they couldn't, not with their spirits in the Shadow Realm. Then again, even when they had been on the same plane, they hadn't been able to revive their bodies. Mokuba shuddered and looked away.

"Have you seen enough?" Seto asked.

Mokuba nodded. "I just wanted to see them . . . to know they really are still here, and not able to come after us again. . . ." He bit his lip. "What if they find a way out of the Shadow Realm? Yami Marik keeps getting out. . . ."

"We'll deal with that if it happens," Seto said. He guided Mokuba to the door.

"Yeah. . . ." Mokuba shuffled ahead of Seto. At the door, he stopped and turned back. "Seto, what makes some people able to change their lives and some not?"

Seto rocked back in surprise. He hadn't expected that question.

"I mean, the Big Five are all still stuck in their rut. They can't think of anything but revenge, and they're getting worse." Mokuba clenched his fists. "It was bad enough when they wanted to trap us in virtual reality. Now they tried to kill me to get at you, and they didn't care if they took out several other people too!"

He looked out the door to where Yami Bakura was arguing with the doctor, refusing to remove the Infinity Ring and insisting Bakura be treated first. ". . . And he saved us. . . ."

Seto looked at the scene and sighed. He would have to tell the doctor to let the thief keep the Ring. He didn't want to be responsible for the chaos that would happen if they forced it off of him.

"If I had to guess, I would say the difference here is because he had the support of someone who loves him, while the Big Five don't," he said as he opened the door. "I fell deeply into my own rut of hatred and anger, and I couldn't find my way out until you spoke up and let me know what was happening to me. I was so wrapped up in thoughts of revenge that I couldn't see how it was twisting me. The Big Five don't have anyone they care about enough to point something like that out to them. If anyone tried, they wouldn't listen."

Mokuba looked down. "I remember when Lector looked out for us. He wasn't nasty like Gozaburo, and I actually thought maybe he might care about us."

"If he did, that's long gone now," Seto said. "And even if I'm partially responsible for that, it's no reason for him to take out his anger on you."

Mokuba sighed. "Do you ever wonder if we could have run KaibaCorp with them?" he wondered.

"Not really," Seto said. "I thought at first it would work, but then I saw that they still wanted to adhere to Gozaburo's ideas and keep KaibaCorp as a weapons company. That was unacceptable. They knew I wanted to change the course of the company and they thought they could 'keep me in line' and run it the way they wanted it to be run. I beat them to it by taking away a lot of their responsibilities and giving them jobs in my new version of KaibaCorp. I can't blame them for not being satisfied with that, but they should have realized as much as I did that our different ideas were not going to mesh."

"I wonder if there's any hope for them or if they'll never change," Mokuba mused.

"I doubt it." Seto peered down at Mokuba. "You're not getting any ideas, are you?"

"Not really." Mokuba shook his head. "I just kind of miss when Lector cared, if it wasn't just an act he was putting on to please Gozaburo." His eyes narrowed. "But I don't know if I could ever get past everything he's done since turning against us. I know I got past stuff with Noa, but he was really just a kid and Gozaburo had treated him rotten, so it seemed easier to forgive and to believe there was still good in him. With Lector, he's an adult and it seems like he should know better than to try to go after kids." He clenched his fists. "I feel like he really betrayed our trust. I guess he feels like that about you, but most people don't get that extreme if something goes wrong." He frowned. "I kind of wish I'd met up with Lector and I could have asked him if he ever really cared. I'd like to know. I guess I never will now."

"Supposing you did, and he said he had," Seto said. "Would that change anything?"

"I don't know," Mokuba said. He looked down. "I'm all confused. . . ."

Seto laid a hand on his shoulder. "It's hard to lose people you thought cared. But there's nothing you can do about it. You have to move on with your life."

"Yeah." Mokuba looked up and smiled. "And I'm so glad we can move on together, Seto."

Seto smiled as well. "I am too."

"I just hope people are going to give _Duel Monster Days_ another chance," Mokuba sighed.

"Well, while opinions are of course mixed, Roland said that quite a few people are even more enthused about the game after today," Seto said.

Mokuba's eyes widened. "That's awesome!"

"And thankfully, most people apparently believed him when he said in today's press conference that we weren't responsible for the game being broadcast across the city," Seto continued.

Mokuba beamed. "I guess there'll always be some people who'll be suspicious, but it's great to know that most of them aren't."

Seto fully agreed. He hadn't been looking forward to the headache of running damage control. He would still need to, of course, but knowing that not everyone believed KaibaCorp was responsible for the trouble was encouraging.

They reached the others, and the doctor started and looked up in frustration. "Oh, Mr. Kaiba! This patient is impossible! He won't remove his trinket and he refuses to be treated at all ahead of the boy!"

"Just do what he wants," Seto said. "They both need to be looked at, don't they? So just take Bakura first instead of standing around arguing about it. And as for the Ring . . ."

"You think it's a trinket, eh?" Yami Bakura interrupted. He smirked at the doctor. "Feel free to examine me without it, if you can."

"Oh no," Mokuba groaned.

"Oh dear," said Bakura.

Laughing, Yami Bakura took the Ring off.

The doctor went pale and nearly fainted. "W-What is this?!" he cried. "You . . . now you're transparent!"

Yami Bakura slipped the Ring back on. "Shall I keep my trinket?"

The doctor held a hand to his head. "I can't deal with this. . . ."

"Just let him keep it and get on with this," Seto said.

Still reeling, the doctor guided Bakura into an examination room. Yami Bakura followed.

Marik was just emerging from another examination room with the others. He shook his head. "He will always be a character."

"But the kind you can get fond of," David remarked.

"We owe a lot to him, that's for sure," Duke said.

Seto certainly agreed. He hadn't thought he could trust or forgive Yami Bakura for the past, but now, in Seto's eyes, the man had redeemed himself. He was worthy of trust. Perhaps of forgiveness too.

Mokuba hurried over to talk to Marik. When he did, Téa suddenly appeared and went over to Seto. "Kaiba, that was a terrible stunt you pulled," she said.

Seto was not impressed. "I had to make the Big Five think I was dead," he retorted. "To get them out of my game, I had to draw all of them into the room with the central computer. Thinking I was out of the way was the perfect way to do it."

"And what if Mokuba had come in just then?!" Téa persisted. "Can you imagine how he would have felt, especially after already thinking someone died tonight?"

"He didn't come in," Seto said.

"Well, and what about Atem?" Téa demanded. "He was upset too!"

"What about you?" Seto returned. "Were you upset?"

"Of course I was upset!" Téa immediately shot back. "It was horrible seeing you supposedly get electrocuted! It would be horrible seeing that happen to anyone! And seeing Atem so upset and knowing how Mokuba would feel made it even worse!"

"Then it's really more about Atem and Mokuba," Seto said. "Why pretend it's about you?" He started to turn away. "Maybe Atem should be the one to speak with me."

Téa fell back. An angry retort was immediately on her tongue, but it didn't come out. Seto really did have a point. Only . . .

She blinked back tears. "It was about me too," she quietly admitted. "It would be horrible seeing it happen to anyone, but . . . it was also horrible seeing it happen specifically to you."

Seto slowly turned back. Téa was not a good liar; she always spoke her mind. And that meant she really was sharing her true feelings.

"Then I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Or Atem either, for that matter."

Téa just stared at him, dumbfounded. Before she could possibly find her voice, he had walked over to Mokuba and Marik.

Duke now walked over to her. "What was that all about?"

"I . . . I'm not sure," Téa stammered, shaking her head. She had known why Seto had done what he had. She had known it was logical and practical. Why had she been so upset that she felt she had to say something about it?

She turned away. "If you guys are done, let's go find Yugi and everyone and go home," she beseeched.

"Sounds good to me," Duke said.

"Or maybe we should go to the cafeteria and eat?" David suggested. "Most of you haven't eaten all day, and we ate hours ago."

". . . That's a good point," Téa conceded. "And I know Joey and Tristan would be all for it."

Overhearing, Seto glanced their way. "Go ahead."

"Awesome," said Duke.

xxxx

Eating was definitely a delight. Everyone found something that looked appealing and settled down at the various tables to feast.

"Man, am I glad this day is over," Joey said through a mouthful of food. When he swallowed, he looked to Mai and said, "But I'm a thousand times happier that you're back, Mai."

Mai smiled. "I wanted to come back so many times and I chickened out. I'm glad I finally made it back too."

"You're staying, right?" Joey looked hopeful.

"I'm hoping to," Mai said. "I'm looking at houses and apartments now. Meanwhile, I'm at the Royal Hotel."

"There's a vacancy at my building," Duke offered. "It's a good place. Lots of security."

"Just as long as the Big Five aren't taking over the city and butting in everywhere," David interjected.

"Thanks, Duke," Mai smiled. "I'll check it out tomorrow."

"This is wonderful," Serenity beamed. "The whole gang is back together again!"

"Yes," said Atem. He looked to Bakura and smiled fondly. The boy was safe and sound and Yami Bakura was back to his usual self. All was truly well.

"Tristan?" Téa asked. "Do you have anything you want to say?"

Tristan jumped a mile. "Huh? Oh." He shifted in his seat. "I'm glad you guys are okay." He looked to Bakura and Yami Bakura.

"So are we," Yami Bakura grunted.

"I wasn't sure what to believe about Bakura, but I hated thinking he was gone. And with you, I . . ." Tristan swallowed hard. "I really thought you'd bit the big one, man. And I . . . wasn't okay with that at all."

"I know you've already said that you don't want anything to happen to me," Yami Bakura said. "I remember."

"It's true," Tristan agreed. "I don't want you to be hurt, or worse. I'd feel like that even if you weren't our . . . our friend. My friend."

Yami Bakura quirked an eyebrow. "You're not just being guilted into saying this by Téa, are you?"

Tristan flushed. "No. Téa figured out that I really felt that way about you and that I was feeling guilty for not admitting it before you got clocked by that beam. She cornered me when we got here and got me to admit it. I . . . I'm sorry." He looked down at his plate.

For once, Yami Bakura looked like he wasn't sure what to say. "Thank you," he said at last. "For telling me."

Bakura started to smile in triumphant happiness. It was what he had longed for and hoped would happen for months. Now it finally had.

"Alright!" Yugi grinned. "So we're all friends now! That's great!"

"It certainly is," Solomon said. "We're a much more powerful team when we're all united! . . . Oh my goodness." He stared at the phone on the wall. "I should call your mother and let her know we're all safe. I'm sure she's seen that this madness has stopped."

"I should call Mom too," Serenity said.

They hurried to place their phone calls.

Yugi looked to Téa. "Are you okay, Téa? You've been kind of quiet. I thought you might say something more about Tristan."

"Huh? Oh." Téa, who had been staring off at the Kaibas' and Ishtars' table, snapped back to the present. "No, I'm fine, Yugi. Just fine. . . ."

Atem gave her a curious look, but didn't comment.

xxxx

Bakura flinched as Yami Bakura applied the ointment to his burned skin. Then he sighed, relaxing and smiling. They were home safe now, sitting on Yami Bakura's bed. The horrors of the day were over. They might persist in nightmares for a while longer, but in reality there was nothing to be afraid of right now.

"What a frightful day," he said.

"At least those devils have been thrust into a world of anguish and despair," Yami Bakura said bitterly. "As long as they stay there, they can't hurt us."

"Yes. . . ." Bakura looked down. "You don't suppose Yami Marik will find them and want to team up with them? . . ."

"Of course it's possible," Yami Bakura growled. "Especially since now they'll have a grudge against me in addition to all the other people they hate. But on the other hand, perhaps that fiend will feel that they're all pathetic failures and he won't want to work with them. Most likely, he would rather cause all the chaos and heartache himself."

"Well . . . what if meeting them makes him want to break free of the Shadow Realm and come back to cause us more trouble?" Bakura worried.

"That would be more likely," Yami Bakura said. "Only I doubt he would need to meet them in order to have such ideas. I have to figure out how he keeps escaping so easily! If I only knew, I might be able to prevent it!"

"There must be some way to figure it out," Bakura said.

"Unfortunately, I have no idea what it could be," Yami Bakura growled.

Bakura sighed. It really was a matter of concern. But he didn't want to think about it right now.

"Yami?" he ventured after a moment. "What was Amunet like?"

Yami Bakura paused in his application. "She was . . . very innocent but very mischievous. I mentioned how she liked to go exploring. As the older brother, I was supposed to keep her in line. Sometimes I did . . . and sometimes I got us both into trouble."

"Oh dear," Bakura chuckled.

"And of course, being raised by thieves, we were both growing up not finding anything wrong with taking things. Heh." Yami Bakura smirked. "Our parents had to find ways to get us to realize that taking from them and others in the village was unacceptable."

"How sad to think of young children being brought up to believe stealing is alright," Bakura said.

"Of course, you and your sister were raised just the opposite," Yami Bakura grunted.

"Yes," Bakura said. "Not that we didn't get into trouble on occasion. Amane took pennies from Father's coin holder more than once. But she was made to understand that it wasn't acceptable. And I remember trying to take a small wooden figure from a store once. I put it in my pocket and hoped no one would see. But Mother did."

"So you liked wooden things even then," Yami Bakura said.

Bakura nodded. "I found it fascinating how so many details could be carved into something so small. And how it really only took a simple knife and some patience to make it happen."

"You haven't done much wood-carving lately," Yami Bakura remarked. "Do you plan to get back to it?"

"I hope to, if things will just settle down for more than a few days," Bakura said. He fell silent, idly playing with the edges of the quilt that had been thrown back on the bed.

"What is it?" Yami Bakura grunted. "I can tell something's on your mind."

"Well . . ." Bakura looked to him over his shoulder. "I was just wondering, Yami. . . . You said during the Neo-Orichalcos calamity that you didn't like playing good. Do you still feel that way?"

Yami Bakura hesitated. "I said that because I felt it was a lie, that I was going against my nature. And oddly enough, aside from pretending to be you, I have generally been a straightforward person. I've told people the truth, even if it isn't what they wanted to hear. Anyway, I felt that when I had been charged with using the Ring for good, it was ridiculous to think I could do that if I had to live a lie."

"But?" Bakura gently prompted.

A low growl. Then, resignedly, "You reminded me that my goals in Egypt were actually good, before Zorc poisoned me. I wasn't always a wretched person. And it's true that I managed to do some good things even after that, once I met you."

"And all the things you've done recently to help the others," Bakura said. "Surely you realize that those are also good things . . . even if, as you say, you do them because you're the only one available to help."

"Yes," Yami Bakura admitted. "I realize. So I'm not 'playing' good. I actually can be."

"Oh yes!" Bakura exclaimed in happiness. "But it's not 'can be,' Yami; you simply are!"

Yami Bakura grunted.

Bakura sighed, some of his excitement fading. "Oh well." He managed a smile. "It's definitely an improvement. I guess I can't expect you to fully accept such a momentous truth all at once. But I'm thrilled you recognize any of it."

"It is quite the occasion, I suppose," Yami Bakura said. "I never thought I'd get this far."

"And now everyone trusts you and thinks of you as a friend, even Tristan!" Bakura said.

"Well, I doubt Seto Kaiba considers me a friend," Yami Bakura retorted. "But he does trust me now. And you're right; Tristan thinks of me as a friend." He sounded awed now. "He wouldn't lie about it."

"No, he wouldn't," Bakura smiled. "I knew he would come around!"

"I didn't think he would," Yami Bakura said. "But then I didn't think Joey would either."

"They forgave everyone else," Bakura said softly.

"They always made me feel that I was different," Yami Bakura said. "If I'm to be honest, that hurt, even though I knew I deserved their distrust and unforgiveness. Part of me wondered why I was different to them, yet at the same time I knew why. My crimes were worse."

"I don't think so," Bakura said. "Especially when you factor Zorc into it." He frowned. "Joey and Tristan's attitudes probably fueled your self-loathing, didn't they."

A shrug. "I don't know. I already knew I'd done terrible things. But you expressed a completely different view about me, Bakura. If I was going to listen to anyone, it should have been you. I value your opinion the most."

"I think sometimes it's easier to believe the negative views, especially if they're what you already think of yourself," Bakura said. "If someone expresses a positive view, it feels like they just don't know you or understand the 'truth.'"

Yami Bakura paused. "You sound as though you're speaking from personal experience."

Bakura sighed. "I have struggled with self-hatred many times in the past. I blamed myself so deeply for Mother's and Amane's deaths. It didn't matter what anyone said; I couldn't make myself believe differently. But I've started to come to terms with it at last. I know what you told me is true, Yami; I couldn't have known what my foreboding meant. And I wasn't even there when the car crash happened. I couldn't have done anything." He blinked back tears. "I suppose . . . maybe . . . I've always had some survivor's guilt."

"Naturally you would," Yami Bakura said. "I've had that all along about Kul Elna. Of course I didn't know there was actually a name for it back then, but now in the present day I recognize it for what it is."

"Do you still have it?" Bakura asked.

"I don't know," Yami Bakura said honestly. "I've tried not to; I know it's ridiculous. My family was no doubt grateful that I survived, unless they feared that surviving would be worse for me than dying with them. Knowing you care about me has helped a great deal . . . and seeing Amunet has helped as well. She seemed to be alright. I hoped she would be, once she was free of the curse binding her and the other sacrificed souls to the Millennium Tablet, but I haven't actually known it."

Bakura smiled. "I'm sure seeing her will help you heal, Yami."

"Hopefully."

Bakura fell silent, just processing the feel of the healing ointment. Now, as the hurt skin was past the initial shock of the application, the pain was definitely being soothed. It felt so good.

"Yami?" he softly asked, returning to an earlier topic. "Do you think of the others as friends?"

Yami Bakura blinked in surprise. "I am coming to care about all of them," he said. "I never thought that possible, but it's the truth. I told Tristan that I felt I could come to think of them all as friends. But I wonder . . . what would that feel like? It took ages for me to recognize how deeply I care about you. And I doubt I would ever feel about anyone else that deeply. That does not mean I couldn't consider the others my friends, but . . . I wonder if I would recognize if I did."

"Hmm." Bakura leaned back, gazing into the distance. How to explain what friendship felt like to someone who had never even experienced anything like it until scant months before? "I know you care about the others and don't want them to be hurt. . . . Some people would say even that is a form of friendship. But I know what you really mean are the deeper feelings, the trust and camaraderie and love that only come with a far firmer bond." He smiled. "The trust now exists on their parts. What about on yours?"

"I know they would help me if I was in trouble," Yami Bakura said. "They have proved that more than once."

"And respect, of course, is vital," Bakura continued. "I believe they respect you, Yami, even if they don't fully understand you."

"I doubt they ever will," Yami Bakura smirked. "But trust and respect go hand in hand, don't you think? You can't have one without the other."

"That makes sense," Bakura mused. "But so what you're saying is that you respect them in turn."

"Yes," Yami Bakura agreed. "I didn't really stop to think about it before, but I do."

"Then the building blocks are already there," Bakura said. "It makes sense too if they see you as a friend before you're able to do the same, considering they've had far more experience with friendship than you have." He smiled. "But those feelings will come for you. I'm sure of it."

"Well, you always seem to manage to be right where it comes to me," Yami Bakura grunted. "I have no real reason to doubt you on this."

He finished his task and wiped his hands on a piece of paper towel before beginning to bandage Bakura's back. The doctor had taken care of it at the KaibaCorp infirmary, but Bakura had wanted to shower upon arriving home, prompting the need for another application. Yami Bakura didn't mind applying it. He would need to do it anyway until Bakura was better. It was a way for him to heal a bit after not being able to prevent Bakura from being hurt.

"There," he said as he finished.

Bakura turned and smiled at him. "Thank you, Yami." He reached for his pajama top and carefully slipped it on, then slowly buttoned it. A yawn escaped his lips. "Oh my. I'm very tired suddenly."

"No surprise," Yami Bakura grunted. "It's been an outrageously long day and we didn't eat a thing until we settled down in Kaiba's cafeteria tonight."

"And that was most certainly welcome." Bakura slumped against his friend. "Now, sleep would be very welcome."

Yami Bakura supported the boy as he slumped down. "Then sleep," he said gruffly. "There's nothing stopping you now."

"Yami . . ." Bakura rested his head against Yami Bakura's shoulder. "I'm so glad you're here."

Yami Bakura held him close. It still seemed almost a dream, to have him home safe. And not just that, but for him to be happy at his ancestor's presence. He was already dozing, looking completely at peace.

Yami Bakura looked over at the other bed. It was just across the room. He could carry Bakura over there if he switched forms. But . . . just for tonight, it was nice to have him here, to know he was really alive.

A memory flashed back to him, something that had happened some months before, right after they had tangled with the twisted serial killer The White Death.

 _The sound of Bakura screaming nearly sent him falling out of bed. They were still sharing a bed out of necessity when the boy's father was home using the room and bed that Yami Bakura would otherwise use. They accomplished this by each staying on one side and facing away from the other. It had been working relatively well, especially once Yami Bakura had determined that they would have more space if he stayed in the form resembling Bakura's older brother. This sudden cry was more than enough to make him rethink their situation again._

 _He was up like a shot, turning to face the agonized teen. "Bakura! What on Earth is the problem?!" he snapped._

 _Bakura was shaking, gripping the quilt as he turned to look as his ancestor. "Yami. . . ." Tears slipped from his eyes. "I saw it all happen again. . . . The White Death was there, throwing the spear. . . . I tried to stop it, but I couldn't. It . . . it impaled you. . . . And this time, when I got it out, the magic spell didn't break. You just stayed dead. . . ."_

 _Yami Bakura stared at him. That kind of night terror was what had prompted the boy's anguish? It was true that they finally realized they loved each other, but it was still hard to fathom at times for one who had not been loved in three millennia._

 _Bakura sat up. "Show me the scar, Yami," he pleaded. "Show me, so I can know it's all in the past."_

" _You already know," Yami Bakura retorted. But he lifted his shirt, revealing the cruel scar across his waist._

 _Bakura stared at it for a long moment until he was satisfied. Then he laid back down, still facing the other. "Yami . . ." He bit his lip, hesitant and embarrassed._

 _Yami Bakura let his shirt drop into place again. "Well, what is it?" he asked._

 _Bakura went red. "Will you . . . let me see you tonight? I mean . . . instead of us facing away from each other, I want to see you, so I can see you're breathing. . . ."_

 _What a bizarre request. But Yami Bakura was touched by it. Had his ancient family been returned to him, he would want to keep reassuring himself that they were really alive. "Alright." He laid down again too, facing Bakura._

 _He was just dozing when he felt Bakura roll over and snuggle against him. He started, staring down at him. Bakura was no doubt asleep and had done it unawares, just as he had that first awkward night when they had tried to share the bed. Yami Bakura had tried to push him away then, not liking his space invaded. But now, instead, it felt nice. It reminded him of when Amunet would burrow against him like this. So he put his arm around Bakura and fell asleep like that._

In the present, Yami Bakura stared down at the boy in his arms. Bakura had needed assurance that Yami Bakura was still alive back then. Tonight, Yami Bakura wanted the same assurance about Bakura. It was ridiculous, when he knew very well Bakura was alive, and yet, to a heart that had been hurting so deeply, it made perfect sense.

He laid down on the bed, bringing Bakura with him. He and Amunet had done this on cold nights back in Egypt, innocently burrowing under a quilt together for warmth. Brother and sister, or two brothers . . . it was all the same. Now the days when he and Bakura had struggled to share a bed out of necessity and had fought over the space and the quilt seemed so trivial. Bakura was alive, and he loved him! And the feeling was returned. To have him back was worth any lack of space or quilt.

Speaking of which . . . suddenly the quilt was moving, being pulled over them seemingly of its own accord. Yami Bakura looked up with a start. Amunet was standing there, smiling, not looking jealous of Bakura at all, but only happy for them.

" _I love you, big brother,"_ she said softly. _"We'll all be together someday. Ryou too. But for now, you're going to keep working on getting your second chance. I know you will! And Ryou and I will both be right by your side all the time."_ She bent down and kissed him on the forehead before she shimmered and vanished.

"Amunet," Yami Bakura whispered.

"Yami," Bakura mumbled.

Yami Bakura looked down at him. Would Bakura be embarrassed the next morning, waking up like this? Or, after everything, would it seem natural? It did to him.

Strange, how his friend in the past had betrayed him and his friend in the present was true. And now there were other friends too, who would also be true. How was a tired old madman such as he allowed so much?

He closed his eyes, holding the boy close as sleep finally blanketed him.


End file.
